Because I Love You
by Coco96
Summary: He had a reputation of being a player, but when he cheats on the wrong girl, his whole world get turned upside down. Niou x OC
1. An Unexpected Visit

**AN: This is probably going to be a short fanfic, maybe like five or so chapters. I don't understand honorifics so I'm just choosing not to use them. Thoughts are in **_**italics**_**.

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**Chapter One: An Unexpected Visit**

The door was opened and a girl in a crisp Hyotei uniform stepped out. Smirking, she entered the gates of the school holding a Rikkai regulars jersey. She walked to the back of the school to where, according to Oshitari, is where the tennis courts were located.

Yukimaru had called all the regulars onto the courts for a meeting. That's when he noticed that one of his regulars was missing; the Trickster of Rikkai was nowhere to be found.

"Where is Niou?" Yukimaru asked, smiling at his team.

Yagyuu looked around for his partner. "I'm not sure where Niou is. He was in school today."

"Um… excuse me?"

The regulars turned around to see a girl about fourteen. She had straight black mid-length hair and dark brown eyes.

"Who are you?" Sanada asked bluntly.

"I was wondering if you might be the Rikkai regulars."

"Hmm… Hyotei… Interesting," Yanagi said, noting her uniform. "The probability of one of the Hyotei students passing through is 4.36%."

"Well," the girl replied "I'm not passing through. I'm here to see my boyfriend, who happens to be on the tennis team."

"Really? Who is he?" Kirihara asked.

"…"

"What? Is it a secret or something?" Marui asked, blowing a bubble.

Sigh. "Is Haru here or not?"

"I'm sorry... Haru?"

"Yes, as in Masaharu. Niou Masaharu."

There was a moment of silence, then...

"EHHH? Niou?" Kirihara and Marui exclaimed.

Yanagi opened his eyes a bit; Sanada's eyes widened in shock, Yukimura's smile faltered, Jackal sweat dropped, and Yagyuu couldn't breathe.

Yagyuu was in a state of shock. Niou, whom he shared everything with, had failed to mention that he was in a relationship. For a normal person, this wasn't such a big deal, but Yagyuu couldn't imagine Niou settling down with one girl, even for a little while. Niou had always been sort of a player, never staying with a girl for more than two weeks.

"How long have you been going out exactly?" Yagyuu asked.

"…"

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Let's see brown hair, glasses, gently stoic face…" the girl said thoughtfully. Then she faced broke out into a smile. "You must be Yagyuu, Masaharu's partner!"

"Niou mentioned me?"

"Of course, he talks about you a lot compared to the other regulars. Says you're the best doubles partner a person could ever have."

"Hey! I object to that," Marui said frowning.

The girl turned to him. "Red hair and bubblegum, you must Marui, right?"

"Yeah," Marui said smiling.

"Hm," the girl looked him up and down, "you're a lot hotter than Haru said you'd be."

Upon hearing that, Marui blushed.

"Did Niou mention me?" Akaya asked, bouncing up to the girl.

The girl stared at him for a second. To be honest, she couldn't remember. The only others she recalled him talking about were a Yukimura, Sanada, Yanagi, and Jackal. But she did hear about a second year ace named Kirihara from Oshitari. So she decided to do her good deed for the day.

She smiled a breath taking smile at the boy. "You're Kirihara Akaya, aren't you?"

Said boy smiled at her. "So Niou did mention me?" he asked hopefully.

Internally, she rolled her eyes. Why on Earth would anyone care so much? But on the outside she nodded and said, "Oh he talked about you a ton. Once when we were talking I couldn't get him to shut up about you're Knuckle Serve. He kept going on about how strong and fast it was."

Akaya beamed and threw his arms around her. Once he let go he went to stand next to Yukimura, smiling like an idiot.

"So, just to confirm, Haru isn't here then?" she asked looking at Sanada.

"Well, we're supposed to have practice but Niou failed to show up," Yukimura answered.

"Are you the buchou, Yukimura?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

"I see… Well when you see Haru can you give him this for me?" She asked, holding out his jersey.

Akaya noticed Niou first. But, what he didn't realize as he raised his arm and pointed was that Niou was with a girl. A very, very attractive girl.

When out poor in love Hyotei girl turned around, she frowned, her grip slackened on the jersey and it fell silently to the ground. She sighed and bent down to retrieve the it. Before standing she brushed it off and took several deeps breaths to keep from crying.

That was then that Niou noticed them. His follow regulars were standing around, not practicing, with a girl in a Hyotei uniform.

_No, she could have_, Niou thought as he watched the girl stand. There was no mistake that that was his girl. The way she looked straight through him breaking down all the barriers he had built to keep the world out.

He tried to go to her, but the other girl, Kuzume, pulled him back. She kissed him and if only for a moment he could have sworn that he saw hurt flash across the face of his girl, Kumiko Rie.

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**AN: So what did you think? Good, bad, indifferent? Reviews are loved and cherished.**


	2. Giving Back His Heart

**AN: Thanks for the reviews! Talk about a speedy update, but I couldn't help it! **

**Sorry if this chapter is a little bit shorter.**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 2: Giving Back His Heart**

Niou Masaharu had never been in this situation before. Had he cheated on girls? Sure, but none that had actually meant anything to him. What was worse was that she had met him teammates. He knew everyone, even Sanada though he probably didn't care, would side with her if she chose to make his life miserable. And depending on what she had told them Yagyuu might even refuse to play doubles with him.

… Okay… that last thing was a little drastic. Yukimura would never let something as trivial as a girl come between partners. But still, anything was possible.

Niou walked over to his teammates with Kuzume following after.

"Rie," he said looking at the girl.

"Niou," she said nodding at him.

Her tone wasn't cold, but it still cut through him like a knife slicing through air. It was the tone you used when someone was merely an acquaintance, not really important in your life but still there.

"Who's this, Masaharu?" Kuzume asked, wrapping herself around him arm.

"Hi, I'm Kumiko Rie. You must be Niou's girlfriend, eh?" she answered, smiling at said girl.

The girl smiled back, "That's right. I'm Kuzume Asahina."

"Well it's nice to meet you. Niou really cares a lot about you."

"Aw," the girl smiled at Niou, "that's so sweet to hear."

The regulars and Niou stood watching this little exchange with open mouths. They couldn't believe that a girl who was apparently so close to Niou would be okay with him cheating on her.

"Niou," Sanada said, looking at the boy, "you were late to practice. Go get changed then 100 laps."

"What? 100 laps? Last time I was last I only got 20!"

"200."

"Oh, and Niou?"

"Yes, buchou?"

"No bringing girlfriends to the court."

"Hai," he said, detaching himself from the other girl.

"I'll see you later, Niou," she said, and then she kissed him on the cheek before walking away.

Niou and the other regulars turned to Rie, half expecting her to be crying and the other half for her to hit Niou.

"Here," she handing him his jersey. "You left it at my house."

"Rie," he took a step towards her.

Sigh. _And here I was trying to be nice_, she thought as she took a step back.

"Can we talk about this," he said, taking another step to her.

Sigh. "Niou," she smiled, "here really isn't anything to talk about."

"But-"

"And besides you have practice. And an extra 200 laps, I believe."

"That can wait. We really need to-"

"Niou."

Aforementioned boy turned to his doubles partner.

"Just let it go."

"Let it go? How do you expect me to let it go?"

"Maybe because it's your fault for being a cheaty cheater," Akaya said frowning.

Niou head whipped around to glare at his kouhai. "What was that, brat?"

"Nothing," he said, moving to cower behind Yukimura.

Yukimura sighed. _This isn't getting anyone anywhere_, he thought. "Niou?"

"Eh?" he replied quietly.

Yagyuu and Akaya he could handle, but Yukimura was on a completely different level. He had the power to kick him off the regulars. He couldn't let that happen. Now that he had lost his real girlfriend he couldn't lose tennis and the regulars.

"What exactly is going on here? A girl from Hyotei comes claiming she's your girlfriend, whom you managed to keep a secret from us, but then you go and date other girl. I find this awful that one of my regulars would do something this terrible."

"Well, no one was supposed to know about her. I mean she was supposed to stay a secret."

Rie cleared her throat. "Um… **she** is right here you know."

The regulars turned to her.

"Look, you guys, this is no big deal, okay?"

They stared at her.

She looked at her watch. "I have to go, but if this continues to be a problem you guys can find me at Hyotei."

Turning, Rie walked away.

"Opps, wait a second." She ran back to Niou. "Here, I'm sure Kuzume would love it." She slipped something into his hand and then she was gone.

Niou looked down at the necklace in his hand. It was what he had given her when they had become official… When he gave it to her he told her he was giving him his heart…

That's when it hit him, like a ton of bricks, he realized they were done, forever and for good.

…

**AN: So what did you think? Review!**


	3. The Seperate Lives of He and She

**AN: Thanks again for the reviews and alerts!**

**I decided to give you guys a little break from the sad this time. But fear not! The next chapter I believe is the emotional one... if I can get it down right.**

**This chapter is just basically showing Rie and Niou post break up. The chapter goes from Niou to Rie. But it stays in third person POV.**

**I was planning on making this chapter longer, but as I got to Rie's ending, it was just too great a cliffhanger to ruin.**

**-Coco**

...

**Chapter 3: The Separate Lives of He and She**

He was avoided. There was no other way to put it. The rest of the school may not have noticed it, but he did. His friends slowly distanced themselves from him, like by not inviting him to go hang out after practice.

Yes, he was still part of the team, and during practice they still acknowledge him but there was distance there also. He was talked to less by everyone, and even received the occasional glare from Akaya, Marui, and, surprisingly even, Yagyuu.

He was just a corpse. Because of Rie, he no longer had his heart. Because of his teammates, he no longer had anything else.

And he hated them.

He blamed them for the emptiness he felt inside.

The master trickster tricked himself.

He tricked himself into believing that it was entirely their fault.

It was their fault for not understanding him, for not caring enough to hear him out, and for not looking past his mistakes and seeing that he was sorry.

However, there was still a part of him that tried to make him accept it. Accept the fact that it was his fault. He cheated and now he was paying the price. It told him that he needs to go and apologize.

But he, if anything, still had his pride. So he refused to admit that he was at fault.

So he simply waited.

He waited until his friends got over it.

He waited for everything to go back to normal.

And he waited for his girl to come back to him.

…

She was content. All her life she had just been content. She had everything a child could want, except the things she couldn't buy.

Like almost all the parents of the children of Hyotei, her's were basically never home, and when they were, they didn't have time for her.

She had been raised by a nanny, to be a polite, poised, and sweet girl. But she hated it.

Oh how she loathed the backstabbing ways of the world she was born into. The corporate jungle, where one wrong move could cost you everything, was her own personal hell. But she stayed, because that was where she was needed. Her parents needed her to get acquainted with all the right people, become friends with their kids, and one day carry out the family business.

So, because of this, she couldn't break down. She couldn't show weakness. It was against her way of living.

Therefore, she simply went back to her normal routine. She woke up, went to school, practiced in the music room, went out to the courts to watch, and then went home.

The difference in her day wasn't that big. But it was enough to affect her.

But still she woke up every morning and put on a smile, fooling everyone else into thinking she was okay.

... Well, almost everyone. Her parents could tell something was wrong, but after their days at work, they didn't have time or the energy to try and figure out what it was.

She also didn't fool all of her friends. True, Atobe, Gakuto, and Akutagawa remained as oblivious as usual. Kabaji... well let's face it he wouldn't notice something unless Atobe told him. Shishido, Ohtori, and Hiyoshi noticed but they didn't say anything. They simply felt that it wasn't their place to try to talk to her about.

Oshitari... he was her biggest problem, they were best friends. It has been that way since forever and she knew he knew something was wrong. She also knew that the tensai had ways of getting what he wanted.

So, she decided to give up. Give up on trying to fool everyone, give up on pretending she was okay, and give up on her life.

She had to move on and this was the only way she knew how.

…

**AN: So what did you think? Tell me in a review!**


	4. Welcome to Rikkai

**AN: Thanks so much for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. Because of theses I have decided to make this story go out to around ten or so chapters rather than the original five.**

**I heard that in Japan the students stay in one room and the teachers switch classrooms, but I'm having school go the American way. So the students switch classrooms and have different classmates each class.**

**Also, I knew that I said I wasn't going to be using honorifics but when Akaya's talking I'll be adding the –senpai or –buchou or –fuku-buchou.**

**Lastly, big thanks also to Midnight Hikari my new beta from last chapter.**

**-Coco**

...

**Chapter 4: Welcome to Rikkai**

"What do you mean?" Oshitari asked.

"..."

"But she can't just be gone."

"Well, she's not gone per say."

"What does that mean?" Oshitari, though he'd never admit it, was irritated. He loved telling others riddles, but hated when others told them to him.

The servant cowered. "We know where she is, but she doesn't exactly want to come back."

"Where is she? I'll go talk to her."

"She's at her summer home in Italy. She said she needed to clear her head and she left."

Oshitari sigh. There was no easy way to do this. If he went to Italy, she was very likely to just slam the door in his face. But if he didn't, she was very likely to not come back. And though that would make his life much easier, he knew he couldn't allow the latter to happen.

He took out his cell phone, fully intending to call Atobe to ask to use his jet, when the door opened.

…

Sighing, the girl opened to door. She didn't want to be here. She didn't even want to be in this country, yet here she was.

When she opened the door she was greet with a blue-haired boy. A blue-haired boy very irked with her existence.

"Hi, Yuushi." She smiled at him.

"…"

"Aw, come on, I know you're happy to see me."

"…"

"Okay then… I'll just leave and come back when you're in a better mood."

She walked back out… then walked right back in.

"Wait a second, this is my house. You leave and come back when you're in a better mood."

Oshitari walked toward her and grabbed her arm. "You think this is funny?" He glared at her. "I came over to check on you and I find out you're gone. Not a phone call or even a damn text! Couldn't you have found it in yourself to at least inform me of your departure?"

Rie sighed. "Look, Yuushi, I'm really sorry, okay?" She ran her free hand through her hair. "I haven't been thinking straight, you know that."

Oshitari's gaze softened and he released her. "I know. I've just been worried about you."

"Actually, I'm glad you're here. I've got something kind of important to tell you."

"What?"

"Well-"

…

As the regulars ran their start of practice laps, they started talking about the transfer student. Apparently, according to Yanagi, who predicted it, and Yagyuu, who confirmed it, the transfer was to start today.

"I hope he plays tennis," Akaya said.

"Why? It's not like he'll be able to beat a genius," Marui replied to his kouhai.

"A genius? Where? I didn't even know Rikkai had one," Niou shot back.

Marui glared at him, while Akaya snickered.

Niou smirked back at them and continued running. He knew everyone would eventually forget about what happened. With the exception of Yagyuu, Yukimura, and Yanagi, everyone seemed to have gone back to their old selves. But, he knew that even they would soon forget.

And all was well in Niou's world.

…

"Now, this is your schedule. And here's a map of the school," the woman behind the counter said, handing him the documents.

"Thank you," he answered.

"Oh, and be sure to have a Rikkai uniform by the end of the week."

He walked out of the office and headed for a girl, who sat in the shade of a tree.

She looked up as he neared. "Yuushi," she sighed, "you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do." He held out his hand to help her up.

Smiling, she accepted it. Brushing grass off her skirt, she said, "Anyone who recognizes you is going to flip."

"Hmm…," he smiled. "That never crossed my mind."

Rolling her eyes, she playfully smacked him on the arm. "I swear, you tensais are so weird."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, "But that why you love me, right?"

"Of course," she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

…

Yukimura called the regulars together. He'd decided to let everyone go early; he had to go to the art club meeting about the exhibit. But, that meant for the regulars they had to practice during lunch.

So, the regulars went their separate ways. Yagyuu headed to the student council office, Yanagi headed to the library, Niou headed to the roof, Sanada stayed to practice by himself, Akaya decided to wander around school, and Jackal was told to watch Akaya.

About ten minutes into the meeting, a first year ran into the room. He looked around wildly before spotting Yukimura and running over to him.

"Buchou," he panted, "Fuku-buchou sent me to get you. There's a Hyotei regular on the courts."

"A Hyotei regular?"

The boy just nodded.

Yukimura was out the door in a minute. On his way there, he sent a group of first year off to find the other regulars.

Upon his arrival to the courts, he watched as his vice captain glared at a boy in a Hyotei uniform. He walked up to them and nodded to the boy.

"Oshitari," he said. Of course he knew the boy; everyone knew of Hyotei and its regulars.

Aforementioned boy remained silent.

"Yukimura-buchou!"

He turned around. Akaya was running toward him with the others on his heel.

"What's wrong?" Yagyuu asked.

"Yeah, I was in the middle of my nap!" Niou frowned.

That when the regulars noticed Oshitari. Akaya and Marui just stared at him. Niou glared. Yagyuu and Jackal remained neutral. And Yanagi captured the data of everyone's reactions.

"Are you here to spy on us?" Akaya asked.

"…"

"Hello?" Akaya waved his hand in front of Oshitari's face, only to be deprived of a reaction. "Are you dead?" Akaya started poking him.

"Akaya," Yukimura said softly, "that's not very polite."

"But I want to know why he's here," Akaya whined.

"Yuushi, I thought I told you to stay away from the courts."

"Eh?" The regulars turned around.

Rie was walking toward them wearing her Hyotei uniform.

"Well, Rie, my dear, I do believe you told me not to cause trouble."

"And have you?"

"I haven't said a word."

"… I see…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Rie," Niou whispered.

Her eyes flickered to him, but she turned her attention to Yukimura. Bowing, she said, "I apologize if he caused any trouble. He's partially insane, so please don't take anything he may or may not have said to heart."

Yukimura smiled, "It's alright. But I am curious as to why you both are here. You'll be late for school as it is."

Rie smiled. "Actually, we're at school."

"Excuse me?" His confusion didn't reach his eyes, but it was apparent in his voice.

"Well, Yuushi," she gestured to the boy, "and I now attended Rikkai."

…

**AN: So what did you think? **

**Also, what are your theories about Oshitari and Rie's relationship?**

**Review!**


	5. The Truth Comes Out

**AN: Thanks so much for all the reviews!**

**I know I said I wasn't using honorifics( -kun, -chan, -san), but I decided that I'm going to use them now. It'll be easier to show where the characters are in their relationships.**

**You see a little bit more of Rie and Yuushi's relationship in this chapter, but a tiny bit. You also find why and how Yuushi is at Rikkai. This chapter is the big confession scene between Rie and Niou. All the cards are put on the table. **

**Remember, thoughts are in **_**italics**_**.**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 5: The Truth Comes Out**

Their first day of school was half over and it was time for lunch. Rie and Yuushi decided against eating in the cafeteria and picked somewhere else; since they were new, they decided to race there.

Yuushi, of course, was letting her win.

…

The regulars were eating lunch on the roof. Typically they would be practicing but, due to the recent turn of events, Yukimura decided on a nice lunch as a team…

Or it was until they heard two people running up the steps.

Rie ran through the open door and turned around smirking. A minute later Oshitari ran through the open door and wrapped his arms around her.

She smiled at him. "I won."

He kissed her cheek. "Yes you did, princess."

She giggled.

Yukimura cleared his throat.

Realizing that they were in the presence of others, Rie detached herself from Oshitari.

"Hi, everyone," she smiled at them. "Sorry if we interrupted you."

Oshitari nodded to them.

"Um… would you like to join us?" Yagyuu asked politely.

Niou shot him a look, which Rie noticed.

"Uh… thanks for the offer, but I think we'll pass," she replied slowly. She looked at Niou, "Niou-san?"

"Niou-san?" he questioned. He was hurt by how she had said his name, not that he let it show.

Rie bit down on her lip. She didn't want to anger him or make him feel bad, but she knew she needed to talk to him. "Can we talk?"

"About?"

"Just… you know…," she trailed off.

"Exactly, we have nothing to discuss," he said rather coldly.

He decided that he had tried talking before just to be shot down. He tried to apologize and she denied him. He was done.

"Please," her voice shook.

"Rie," Oshitari said, wrapping his arm around her, "let's go. He's not worth it. Never has been, never will be."

She searched Niou face for any sign of the boy she knew. When she found nothing, she allowed Oshitari to walk her out the door.

Once they were gone, Niou's breathing became easier and harder. On one side, he was happy that he stood his ground, but on the other, he wanted to kick himself for not grabbing the chance of maybe getting Rie back.

Yanagi spoke first, "There's a 38.3% chance that Masaharu-kun will get a chance to get her back again."

Niou glared at him.

"I agree. It was rather stupid of him to just brush her off like that," Yukimura said.

"Yes, extremely wildly stupid," Marui nodded in agreement.

"I'm right here you know."

Ignoring the Trickster, Akaya spoke, "I wonder why Kumiko-senpai even liked Niou-senpai to begin with."

"Actually," Yagyuu looked at his kouhai, "I was wondering that also. Kumiko-san is a wonderful student. She and Oshitari-san are in some of my classes."

"Will you guys shut up?" Niou shouted. Akaya and Yagyuu had hit a sore spot. When they were together, Niou had asked her that question but never received an answer. He learned not to bring it up, but on the few occasions he would ask her, she simply smiled, kissed him, and said, 'Because you're you'.

"Niou-kun," Yukimura said, "that's no way to talk to your doubles partner or your kouhai."

"Can't you guys just drop it? Why does it even matter why I ever dated that stupid, annoying, spoiled brat of a girl?"

The door, which had been left slightly ajar, opened.

…

Rie was dragged outside by Yuushi. On one hand, she felt like crying, Niou must hate her by now, but on the other hand, she felt oddly happy that he was angry rather than sad.

"Are you alright?" Yuushi pulled her close.

"I'm fine."

He pulled her chin up so that they were facing each other. "Don't lie to me, Rie."

"I'm not."

He searched her eyes for a moment and then smiled. "I'm glad you aren't allowing… him… to upset you," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Why would I? We are no longer together and I understand that I no longer have a claim to him."

Yuushi looked at her, "Doesn't that upset you?"

"Not really." She turned and looked at him, "As long as he's happy, I'm happy."

"Hmm… I see."

Rie looked in her bag. "Opps! I forgot my bento. Be right back," she said, kissing Yuushi on the cheek before running back into the building.

She walked straight to her locker, while pulling out her locker combination. _39… 23… 0,_ she thought as she spun the dial.

She grabbed her bento and was walking back to Yuushi when she passed the staircase that lead to the roof. _What if Yuushi wasn't there? Would he let me explain?_

She climbed the stairwell and was about to push open the door when she heard her name.

"I wonder why Kumiko-senpai even liked Niou-senpai to begin with." _Who was that?_

"Actually, I was wondering that also. Kumiko-san is a wonderful student. She and Oshitari-san are in some of my classes." _I think that was Yagyuu-san._

"Will you guys shut up?" _That's definitely Niou._

"Niou-kun, that's no way to talk to your doubles partner or your kouhai."_ I believe that Yukimura-san._

"Can't you guys just drop it? Why does it even matter why I ever dated that stupid, annoying, spoiled brat of a girl?"

Rie decided to make her presence known. Opening the door, she searched for Niou.

His face had gone completely blank upon noticing her. "Rie… did you… just now…"

She swallowed hard. "Niou-san, stop and just listen, okay?"

Niou remained silent.

"I did hear what you said just now. And to tell you the truth, it hurt, it really, really hurt." She held up a hand when he started to interrupt. "Look, Niou, I'm not clueless, I never have been. I knew what you were like before I even said yes to going on that first date with you. I knew that it would come to an end, but that was okay, because then at least I got to enjoy it while it lasted." She let out a strained laugh. "I knew I'd probably get hurt, and I thought maybe, just maybe, you'd care for me like I care for you. In the end I was wrong." She paused to make sure she wasn't going to cry. "I was stupid, and I trusted you."

Niou stood, holding out his hand, "Rie… I didn't… you weren't supposed to… Rie…"

She took a deep breath. "You know coming here wasn't my first option. At first, I planned on running away to our summer home in Italy. Sadly, it was under renovations. So my second choice was to face my problem head on."

"Rie… don't… please," Niou whispered pleadingly.

"You know," she continuing, as though he had said nothing, "Yuushi and Atobe got into a rather large argument over him coming here. Atobe near had a heart attack when Yuushi told him he was transferring here. And Gakuto was actually silent for, like, five minutes." She sighed, "However, he can't stay. After a week here, he's going back to Hyotei unless I need him."

If Niou hadn't been in shock from her earlier confession he probably would have thrown a party. But he knew how Oshitari felt for Rie and if he was willingly to go to such lengths then there must be something he was tryig to protect her from.

Then Niou realized with a sinking feeling that Oshitari was protecting her from him.

Oshitari thought that he, Niou, was a danger to Rie. What's worse is that if Oshitari thought it, and it was concerning Rie, the boy was probably right.

Is there anything worse than hurting the one you love?

…

**AN: So what did you think?**

**Sorry if the confession seemed a little bit rushed! Oh, and don't worry, there's still plenty more drama to come.**

**There's also a poll on my profile about my next story, so head over there a vote.**

**Review!**


	6. Special Days and Surprises

**AN: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Okay, so more drama!**

**There's some English, so it's going to be in "quotes" like normal speaking but it'll also be in **_**italics**_**.**

**Enjoy!**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 6: Special Days and Surprises**

So for the rest of the week, Niou avoided Rie and Yuushi. One day, they ate lunch in the cafeteria, looking very much like a couple, and Niou left. He didn't come back for the rest of the classes or for tennis practice.

The rest of the team was starting to worry. Niou had missed three practices so far and was late for seven; Yukimura was ready to replace him as a regular. They decided to have an intervention.

…

It was Yuushi's last day at Rikkai and Rie was determined that she would make it special. So, much to Yuushi's distaste, Rie made him a bento and practically catered to his every whim.

He would have said something, but she was so happy about it that he didn't have the heart to try to try stop her.

Right now, it was lunch break; they were under a tree, Yuushi's arm was around Rie, and she was leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Hey, Yuushi?" she looked up at him.

"Yes?"

"How come you don't have a girlfriend?"

Yuushi raised an eyebrow at the question. "Why do you ask?"

"…"

"Rie?"

"… Let's just call it a scientific inquiry."

Yuushi chuckled. "Well, I supposed it's because I haven't found another girl I like."

Rie nodded. "Okay."

"Why the sudden interest in my love life?"

"… Just wondering…"

"Mhmm…"

"What?" she asked, looking up at him innocently.

"Come on. I need a real answer."

"That was a real answer."

"Sure…" He gave her a devilish smile.

"Yuushi… what are you going to do?"

"…" He lunged at her and started tickling her.

"Hahaha! Yuushi, stop!" she shrieked, trying to push him away.

"Tell me why you asked."

"Never! Hahahaha!"

The ticklefest lasted for about ten more minutes. It ended with Yuushi sitting on top of Rie, his knees on either side of her hips.

"Yuushi, get off of me."

"Aw, you know you love it." He threw her a smirk.

She rolled her eyes. After failing to try to get up, she let herself fall back onto the grass.

"I can't believe you're actually pouting."

"I am not!"

"Are to."

"Are not."

"To."

"Not."

Someone cleared their throat.

"Oh, um… sorry… I'll come back later…"

"No, no, it's fine. Did you need something?" Rie asked as Yuushi helped her up.

"Well… I was just wondering…"

"Yes…?" she prompted.

"Could you maybe tutor me in English? I talked to Kumiko-sensei and she said you were the best in class."

"Oh… um… I suppose I could… Your name's Kirihara, right?"

"Yeah, what time is good for you? I'm free anything except for three hours after school every day because of tennis practice."

"… I guess we could do it after that… Where would you want to meet?"

"There's a diner not too far from here, we could go there."

"Perfect. Anything else you need?"

Akaya shook his head and the two of them exchanged cell phones numbers.

As they walked away, Yuushi said, "I don't think you should do it."

"Do what?" she replied.

"Tutor him."

"Why's that, Yuushi?"

"Because he's friends with…"

"With…?"

"… You know… that thing you dated."

Rie laughed. "'That thing', Yuushi, is no longer part of my life. And tutoring Kirihara-san will do nothing except maybe bring me some good karma."

Yuushi stopped. "How are you so nonchalant when it comes to him? Before, when you talked about back when you guys were dating, you said he meant the world to you! You said you loved him! You said that he was like –"

"Yuushi, stop," she turned to face him. "I'm not being nonchalant. I might not be as good as Tezuka or Sanada, but I'm just a lot better at hiding my emotions then others."

"Yes, but I don't want you getting hurt."

"Yuushi, will you lighten up? I'm just tutoring him, not dating."

"… I suppose… But don't let your guard down."

"Yes, sir, Tezuka-san."

Yuushi twitched. "What did you just call me?"

"Nothing, Oh-mighty Pillar of Seigaku."

"Rie...," Yuushi said in a low and dangerous voice.

"Okay, creepy voice much… Well, bye!" Rie took off running, with Yuushi following behind.

…

**Three days later**

"Marui, Niou, twenty more laps!" Sanada shouted.

"Mura-buchou?"

"Yes, Akaya?" asked Yukimura as he smiled down onto the boy.

Akaya hesitated. "… Well… I… kind of need… to like… leave."

"Excuse me?"

"I have to meet someone about something… and I'm supposed to be there in a few minutes."

Curiosity got the better of him. "Who are you meeting with?"

Akaya blushed a little, something that did not go unnoticed by Yukimura. "… I took Yanagi-senpai's advice and I got an English tutor."

"Well who is he? The last time we tried to get you a tutor, we practically had to drag you there."

"She actually."

"Okay then, who is she?"

"Kumiko Rie."

Yukimura hesitated. "You mean as in Niou-kun's ex-girlfriend?"

"Yeah, that's why no one can know, because Niou-senpai would kill me if he found out."

"Alright, you may go and I'll try to make sure no one finds out."

"Thanks, buchou!"

…

Rie liked to believe that she was a patient person. But her patience was running thin; she'd been waiting for him to show up for half an hour.

Akaya ran through the door panting. He quickly spotted her and sprinted over.

"I'm so sorry! Practice ran late, so I had to leave early, but when I was about to leave Marui-senpai cornered me and asked where I was going. I couldn't tell him because he'd tell Niou-senpai. I'm really, really sorry!"

Rie was dumbstruck, Akaya talked at an extremely rapid pace.

"Kirihara-san, it's fine, at least I was able to get my homework finished."

"Um… Kumiko-senpai?"

"Rie."

"Huh?"

"Call me Rie, not Kumiko. Besides, I shouldn't technically be your senpai."

Akaya shot her a questioning look.

"I'm thirteen. But, my parents wanted me out of school as soon as possible, however, Hyotei only let me skip one grade. To be honest, I almost didn't make it. My science grade is totally awful."

"…"

"Anyway, what was it you were going to say?"

"…"

"Kirihara-san?"

"Oh, um… sorry, I was just wondering if you'd mind calling me Akaya instead of Kirihara. I makes me think that you're talking to my dad."

"Okay, Akaya-san it is then. Ready to get started?"

"No," he mumbled as he pulled out his English homework.

Rie laughed.

Maybe this tutoring thing was a good idea.

…

"Has anyone seen the brattling?" Niou asked.

"Wow, Niou-kun," Marui rolled his eyes, "he left like half an hour ago. How did you not notice?"

"'Cause it's Jackal-kun's job to babysit the brat not mine."

Yagyuu sighed. "Niou-kun, please refrain from calling Akaya those derogatory names."

Niou rolled his eyes. "Anyone hungry?"

"Yes!" Marui answered immediately.

Niou scoffed. "You're always hungry."

"Shut up!"

Jackal stepped in, "I know where we can go to eat."

…

"_The cat was playing with string."_

Akaya frowned. "The cat… something… something."

She raised an eyebrow. "Um… okay… That was… close."

"Really?" Akaya asked hopefully.

"Yeah… you… uh… got the first part right."

"What about the rest?"

"How about we try another one… Translate this: _It's cold outside because it's snowing._

Akaya though for a moment, then said, "It's snowing because the outside is cold?"

"…"

"Rie-san?"

"Um… Hey, let's finish your homework!" She grabbed his English worksheet and began to explain.

About fifteen minutes later, the door to the diner was open.

"Hey, bratling! What are you doing here?" yelled a familiar voice.

Rie looked up and her breath hitched.

What was he doing here?

Niou Masaharu.

…

**AN: So what did you think? Love it? Hate it?**

**According to the poll on my profile, my next story with be Sanada x OC. I'll be taking the poll down in like a week, so if you haven't voted yet get on it!**

**Review!**


	7. I Am No Longer Yours

**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews!**

**Enjoy!**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 7: I Am No Longer Yours**

Niou's heart stopped. Sitting in a booth across the diner was his girl with Rikkai's junior ace, Kirihara Akaya. Niou felt like running over there and ripping off the brat's head. It also didn't help that Rie and Akaya where only sitting about a foot apart. If you hid the notebooks, which Niou failed to notice, it would look as if they were on a date.

Niou swallowed hard. "What's going on here?"

He watched as she smiled at Akaya and walked over to them.

"Yagyuu-kun, Jackal-san, Niou-san, and Marui-san, what a pleasant surprise," she said smiling.

"Rie, what's going on here?" Niou repeated.

"…"

"Rie, if you're trying to get back at me...," he said glaring.

"Not everything is about you, Niou-san."

"Niou-san?"

"If that's all," she continued ignoring his comment, "I'm rather busy so excuse me."

She turned and walked back to Akaya.

…

"What did Niou-senpai want?" Akaya asked worriedly.

"Nothing."

"He's not mad at me?"

"…"

"Rie-senpai?"

"I thought I told you not to call me 'senpai'."

"Fine, Rie-chan, then, is Niou-senpai mad at me?"

"I don't think so."

"Is that a yes?"

"No."

"So it's a no?"

"No."

"Wait… no as in yes it's a no or no as in no it's a no."

Rie gave him a look. "Excuse me?"

"Is he mad at me?"

"Just start on your homework."

There was a beeping noise.

"Opps! That's my cell phone, gotta take this." Akaya got up and walked away.

About two minutes later, Niou sat down. Rie, who was determined to ignore him, continued her homework.

"Rie," he said quietly.

"…"

"Rie, please, talk to me."

"…"

He grabbed her hand. "Come on, Rie, please."

She pulled her hand out of his. "There's nothing to say, Niou-san."

"Excuse me?"

"I said that there is nothing to say, Niou-san."

"Stop it already!"

She looked up. "What?"

"Damn it; stop calling me 'Niou-san'!"

"But that's your name."

"Shut up, you never call me that." Niou glared at her.

Rie brushed off Niou's glare. She saw past his icy tone and knew he was upset, she could see it in his eyes. "Called. I never called you that, but that was back then and this is now."

Niou opened his mouth to say something when Akaya came back.

"Sorry I took so long, Rie-chan," he said with a goofy smile. That smile however disappeared when he saw Niou. "N-N-Niou-senpai, wha-what are you d-doing here?"

"Better question: why are you calling _my_ girl, Rie-chan?"

"I'm s-s-s-sorry, senpai," Akaya's voice shook.

"Brattling, I put up a lot with you but this is pushing it."

"Niou-kun, that's enough," Yagyuu said, placing a hand on his doubles partner's shoulder.

"Hello again, Yagyuu-san, Jackal-san, Marui-san," Rie said smiling at them.

Jackal and Marui said a quiet hello back while Yagyuu simply nodded.

"Back off, Yagyuu, this isn't your business."

"Then may I suggest we move this to a more secluded area. We seem to drawing spectators."

"Fine with me," Niou said getting up. "Let's go."

Rie sighed. It was getting late and she was supposed to be home by now. "Actually I have to go. Akaya-san, I'll call you later." She waved goodbye as she left.

Niou turned on Akaya. "So you think that stealing _my _girl is okay, huh?"

"Niou," Yagyuu said in warning, "it would be wise not to hurt him. Yukimura-buchou is very protective of him."

Niou thought for a moment. "Fine, I'll just kill you tomorrow during practice."

Akaya paled.

"Niou, just leave him alone," Marui said sitting down.

"Shut up, Marui!"

"Niou-kun," Jackal started, putting a hand on his shoulder, "please relax."

"Back off, Jackal."

"Don't talk to Jackal like that!"

"Shut up!"

"Niou-kun, please you need to calm down."

"Yagyuu, I thought I told you to stay out of this."

"N-N-Niou-senpai?"

"What do you want brattling?"

"Rie-chan and me aren't dating," Akaya said timidly.

"Huh?"

"Me and Rie-chan aren't dating," he repeated a bit louder.

"Then why were you to here together?" Niou demanded.

"She's tutoring me in English," Akaya said barely over a whisper.

"Oh." To say that Niou felt like an idiot was the understatement of the century. He turned to his doubles partner, "No hard feelings, Yagyuu?"

Yagyuu thought for a moment. True, he did understand why Niou had acted the way he had, but that still didn't make it right. But, being the gentleman he was (and knowing that Niou was being sincere), he nodded.

Niou turned to Marui and Jackal, "We good?"

Jackal simply nodded; Marui answered with a shrug and "whatever".

Lastly, Niou turned to Akaya. He sighed; he had never been very good with apologies. "Look, Akaya… I guess… it seems like… what I'm trying to say is…"

Akaya just stared at him. He thought he was going to apologize, but with Niou you never really know.

"Hey, you want to come to the arcade with me this weekend? It'll be my treat," Niou said finally.

Akaya's eyes lit up, "Really, Niou-senpai?"

"Yeah," Niou said, not looking at the junior ace.

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun!"

"Shut up already. Geez, sometimes you give me such a headache."

…

She was late. She was terribly, utterly, completely late. And he was going to kill her for it. The second she had gotten home, she had immediately taken off her uniform and jumped in the shower. After getting dressed, she ran downstairs and hopped into the awaiting car; by then, she was already ten minutes late. It seemed as though the world had something against her and some idiotic people decided to get into a car crash.

But she was there now and that's what mattered. She walked calmly though the restaurants doors. She found who she was to be dining with and started to make her way over to him when her phone rang.

Walking towards the bathroom, she answered it, "Hello?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Rie sighed. She knew she should've changed her number like Yuushi had suggested. "Tell you what, Niou-san?"

"That you were tutoring Akaya."

"I don't see why it matters."

"You should have told me."

"Where's my obligation?"

There was silence. Then, "I… you just can't… how am I… it's because…"

"Niou-san, can this wait? I am rather busy at the moment."

"With what?"

"It's none of your concern."

"…"

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I will see you at school tomorrow. Goodbye." Just as she was about to hang up, she heard him.

"Rie… what happened? You used to tell me everything," he sounded wounded.

"That was before, and this is now."

"But, Rie, what changed?"

"It is simple, Niou-san; I am no longer yours."

The call went dead.

She went back to her table.

"Hello, Kumiko-chan," the boy said standing up.

"I thought I told you to call me Rie," she said hugging him.

"Rie-chan, then," he said as he pulled her chair out for her.

She waited until he had sat down to respond.

"Good evening, Atobe-san."

…

**AN: So what do you think? Love it? Hate it?**

**Review!**


	8. All's Fair in Love And War

**AN: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Atobe… he's not really important right now. But he'll come back late, so don't forget about him. However, he is not a going to become a significant other to Rie. Trust me, I won't do that to her.**

**In this chapter, you get a look at Rie and Niou's past. Oh, suspense…**

**Enjoy!**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 8: All's Fair in Love and War**

For the next week, tutoring Akaya went on without a hitch. However, Rie couldn't help but notice that Akaya seemed upset. When she tried to talk to him about it he only replied it was because of English. So, being the nice person she was, she decided to go talk to Jackal about it.

Now, why Jackal you may ask. Simply because everyone knew that he was Akaya's 'babysitter' outside the courts; of course he would know why Akaya was so downhearted.

"Jackal-san?" she said, tapping him on the shoulder.

Jackal turned around. "Hello, Kumiko-san, do you need something?"

"I was just wondering if you knew what's wrong with Akaya-kun."

"Akaya? I don't think anything's wrong with him."

"Are you sure? No one's been picking on him or upsetting him?" she pressed.

Jackal thought for a moment. "Well…"

"Yes?"

To be honest, Jackal knew exactly why Akaya was upset. But, he wasn't so sure it would be okay, or safe, to tell Rie. "He's been getting picked on," he said carefully.

Rie's eyes widened. Sure she had suggested it, but it didn't seem plausible. Who would possibly was to pick on a regular? Especially Kirihara Akaya, Rikkai's junior ace and resident 'devil'.

"Jackal-san, who's been picking on him?"

"Some… well, an upperclassman."

"Jackal-san, _we're_ the upperclassmen."

"Oh, yeah…"

"So it's a third year, huh. That is so wrong to pick on an underclassman. I mean, seriously, who does that? How pathetic can you get?"

"Um… Kumiko-san, you really shouldn't say that bout someone," Jackal said, attempting to calm her down.

"Why not? Whoever he is he's obviously a loser."

"Who's a loser?" Marui asked, plopping down in the chair next to Jackal.

"I don't know who, but whoever he is he's simply pathetic."

"Well, who are you talking about?"

"We're talking about the person who's picking on Akaya," Jackal answered him.

Marui thought for a moment before he started laughing.

Rie stared at him. "What's so funny?"

It took a few minutes but Marui finally calmed down enough to answer her. "Do you know who's been picking on Akaya?"

"No," she said slowly. "Do you?"

"Well, I just so happens that I do. It's –"

"Marui," Jackal interrupted, "I don't think you should do that."

"Why not? It's not like I made him pick on Akaya."

"But still, you don't know what'll happen, if she finds out."

"So? It can't be any worse than what Yukimura-buchou would do to him."

"You don't know that."

"Fine, I don't know that, but I'm willingly to take the chance."

Jackal shook his head. Why was he the only sane Rikkai regular?

"It's Niou."

"Hmm?"

"It's Niou."

Emily's brow furrowed. What did Niou have to do with this? "What do you mean?"

Marui raised an eyebrow at her. "Niou's the one that's been picking on Akaya."

Rie stared at him. Sure she had known that Niou could get a bit jealous, but she never expected him to go that far. "Are you sure, Marui-san?"

"Yeah, he's been doing it ever since you and Akaya started dating."

"Really, but that's so… wait… Did you say dating… me and Akaya? No, that's not happening." She rolled her eyes at the look of disbelief she got from Marui and Jackal. "What would make you guys think we were dating?"

"You're always hanging out together," Marui started.

"And he's always talking about you," Jackal finished.

"That's ridiculous… Really? He talks about me?"

Marui smiled. "Does that matter to you?"

Rie blushed. "What? No, I so don't care."

Marui's smile widened. "Reeeally? I think it matters a lot to you."

Rie rolled her eyes, still blushing. "Whatever... I… uh… have to go." She turned and ran.

Marui elbowed Jackal, who rolled his eyes.

"Marui, don't do it."

"They'll thank me for it eventually."

"I doubt that."

"Shut up, Jackal."

…

As much as he hated to admit it, it had been hard for him. Niou had a small jealous side, and he saw her everyday at school and sometimes after school… with… him. It killed to see them together. Whenever he saw them together he just wanted to walk up to them and kiss her senseless, just to show them both that she was still his.

…Okay, so maybe that was overstepping the boundary… He knew that he no longer had a really claim to her anymore, but that didn't make it right.

Isn't there a rule that says you aren't allowed to date your friend's ex-girlfriend? Sure, he wasn't as tight with Akaya as he was with Yagyuu or Marui, but they were still teammates, which made them friends… Right?

So, it was definitely not right that Akaya was dating Rie, which is why he'd been being mean to Akaya. Sure it was stupid and immature, not that he cared. All he knew was that if Rie found out she'd kill him. That's why he always made sure to tell Akaya not to tell anyone.

_Ring. Ring._

"What's up?" he asked, flipping his phone open.

"Niou-san, I believe we need to talk."

Niou throat went dry. "Uh… Rie… how are you?"

"Can you meet me at the place?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. I'll be there in about 5 minutes."

"Okay."

There was a awkward silence.

"Well, bye."

"Bye, Rie," he said, but she was already gone.

…

She leaned against the cheery tree, her mid drifting from memories of their first meeting.

_Flashback_

_She was reading the American novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, when she saw him. He was being followed by several giggling girls, though he didn't pay attention to any of them. She watched as he looked around the park. His eyes fell on her, and he threw he a breathtaking smile. However, it had no effect on her, and she started reading again._

_About, 5 minutes later, he and his pack of girls came within hearing distance of her, which effectively distracting her from her novel._

"_Yes, yes, I know ladies. I am amazing, aren't I?" he boasted._

_The girls giggled in response._

"_The ranking tournament's coming up though. Who knows, maybe I'll get knocked off the regulars," he said with a sigh._

"_Oh, Niou-sama, you're just being modest. There's no way you'll get beat!" one of the girls replied batting her eyelashes._

_I'll never get any reading done this way, Rie thought standing up. She walked over to the nearby fountain near the middle of the park._

_Unfortunately, she seemed to have struck the interest of our dear trickster. He proceeded to follow her, bringing with him his fangirls, who never seemed to shut up._

"_Niou-sama, why don't you amaze us with your skills?" suggested one of the girls._

_Niou smirked. "Well, I can't so no to my precious girls, can I?"_

_Rie rolled her eyes. Honestly, she thought, if his ego gets any bigger, Atobe will have a run for his money, and that's saying something. She stood and turned to leave the park._

"_Excuse me, ladies, I'll be right back."_

_Please, please, please, don't follow me, Rie prayed silently._

"_Hey."_

_Damn, she swore on the inside; however, on the outside she nodded politely in his direction._

"_I'm Niou Masaharu."_

_She continued walked, and he continued to follow her._

"_Do I get to know your name, babe?" he asked._

"_Please, don't call me 'babe'. You hardly know me, so I find it inappropriate," she replied, trying to get farther away from him._

"_Well, babe," he smirked, "if you told me your name I could call you properly, couldn't I?"_

_Rie sighed. This boy just wasn't going to take the hint and leave her alone. "Somehow I don't believe that it's the lack of knowledge of my name that has you calling me that."_

"_I don't believe that we can be having a conversation, and you don't want to kiss me."_

_Rie shot him a look. "That was a completely random and invalid comment."_

"_Well, do you want to kiss me?"_

"_No, not particularly, why do you ask?"_

"_Cause I think you do."_

"_I apologize, but you are mistaken."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_Because it just so happens that I'm married."_

_Niou's jaw dropped. "Wait, you're what?"_

"_Married… well, I'm not married yet, but I have an arranged marriage in place."_

"_Who with?"_

"_My best friend, actually."_

"_You want to marry your best friend?"_

"_Not really, but it's what our parents want."_

"_So?"_

"_What?"_

"_Big deal what your parents want! It's your life."_

"_I… that makes sense, but I'm afraid that's not how it works."_

"_Well, that's how it works in my world, which, lucky for you, you are now a part of."_

"_Really? Why's that?"_

"_I've decided that you're going to be my next girlfriend."_

_Rie raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? And may I ask, do I have a say in this matter?"_

_Niou thought for a minute. "Not really. We'll spend some time together and eventually, you'll just fall for me."_

"_And how, dare I ask, are you planning on doing this?"_

"_I've got some tricks up my sleeve."_

"_What about my fiancée?"_

"_Hey, he's big boy. He can take rejection."_

"_Really?"_

"_Hell yeah, babe, all's fair in love and war, and this, in my world, is a little bit of both!"_

…

**AN: So you got to see some Rie and Niou pre-breakup… What'd you think?**

**Review!**


	9. Until the Day You Die

**AN: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Sigh… This chapter is more of Rie and Niou's past.**

**Enjoy!**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 9: Until the Day You Die**

He watched Rie while she was reading. He had no doubt that he still loved her, but he had every doubt in the world that she didn't feel the same way about him anymore. Niou knew he should probably let her go, however, that didn't mean he would. After all, he was a trickster and tricksters always win.

Niou walked over to her slowly. "Hey, Rie, what's up?"

Rie looked up sighing. "Niou, we need to talk."

Niou's eyes widened. _Isn't that what a girl says when she's about to break up with you?_ He thought.

She sighed and gestured for him to sit next to her.

Niou sat and turned to face her. "What's on your mind, Rie?"

"First of all, can you please stop calling me Rie?"

"But… why? Everyone calls you Rie!"

"… I know… but… to you… it means something different," she said, refusing to look at him.

"…"

"… Niou-san… please don't be upset," she pleaded, still not looking at him.

"Is that all?" he asked, his tone was bitter.

"There is one more thing… It's about Akaya-kun."

Niou's eyes narrowed. "What about him?"

"Niou, you need to stop picking on him."

Niou scoffed. "So what?"

"It hurts his feelings."

"So?"

"It's not right," she elaborated.

"And what does this have to do with you?"

"I know why you're doing this." She finally faced him and looked him in the eyes, as if daring him to lie.

Niou's could feel himself turn red and turned away from her. "Oh, really?"

"Yes. I know how jealous you are. Remember when you first met Yuushi?"

_Flashback_

_They were sitting on a couch in her living room. Niou was trying to guess her favorite color because she simply refused to tell him._

"_Come on, it's pink, isn't it?" Niou asked._

"_For the fifth time, Haru, it is not pink." She rolled her eyes._

"_Why don't you just tell me?"_

"_Because I think it's an irrelevant question."_

"_Please?"_

"_No."_

"_Aw, come on. How can you-," he started._

"_Miss, you have a guest," one of her butlers said opening the door._

_Oshitari stepped in smiling._

"_Hey, Yuushi," she said, walking over to him. She kissed him on the cheek as he wrapped his arms around her._

"_Good afternoon, princess, are you ready to go?"_

_Niou cleared his throat. "What are you talking about Oshitari?"_

_Oshitari smirked. "Well, Niou-san, my princess and I are going to dinner. We haven't seen each other in a dreadfully long time."_

_Niou stared at Rie. "Is this true?"_

_She smiled at him sheepishly. "Well… yeah. I'm sorry, Haru."_

_Oshitari frowned slightly. "No need to be sorry, Rie. We can stay here if you'd like. I'd really love to get to know your… well, him."_

_They sat back down on the couch, the boys on the end and Rie in between them._

"_Rie, you may want to warn him about me," Oshitari said smiling._

"_Ah, you're probably right. Give me a minute to talk to him first, okay?" Oshitari nodded, and she turned to Niou. "I need to tell you about Yuushi. He's really, really protective of me, and it would be really helpful for you when you meet my parents if he likes you."_

"_Huh?" Niou hadn't been listening. He was too preoccupied with the fact that Oshitari had been running his hand up and down Rie's leg._

"_Aren't you listening? This is really important."_

"_What? Yeah, I'm listening."_

"_Good, but whatever you do, don't be rude, especially when you meet my parents. It'll be a total disaster."_

_However, Niou stopped listening again as Oshitari wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. He then resumed stroking her legs. When Oshitari came to a certain point on her leg, she started to giggle, playfully slapping his hand away. Niou stood abruptly and headed for the door._

_Rie's eyes widened. She was over in a second going after him. "Haru?" she grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?"_

"_What wrong? Why didn't you stop him?"_

_Rie's brow creased. "What are you talking about?"_

"_Back there… Oshitari was… touching you…"_

"_Touching me?" She looked at him scandalized._

"_Yeah, he was running his hand on you and stuff."_

_Rie thought for a moment. "Oh, you mean my legs?"_

_Niou nodded._

"_Geez, you made it sound so bad and everything."_

"_You don't think it is?" he asked flabbergasted. He was pretty sure that if he did that, Rie would slap him._

"_Not really… I've actually gotten used to it. He does it all the time."_

"_And you're okay with that?"_

"_Pretty much," she said with a shrug._

_Niou started to reply but stopped. He got a devious smile and asked, "So if I did that, you'd be okay with it?_

_Rie blushed slightly. "No."_

"_But you let Oshitari do that and he's not even your boyfriend."_

"_Well, Yuushi has some issues. He has a leg fetish."_

"_So you let him touch you?"_

_Rie blushed harder. "Stop saying it like that!"_

_Niou smirked. "Admit it. You'd totally love it if I touched you like that."_

_Rie rolled her eyes. "No way, and I swear, if you even try I'll break your arm." She turned and walked back into the living room._

_Niou came in after her and glared at Oshitari. "Back off."_

_Oshitari smiled. "Or what, may I ask?"_

"_I'll kill you."_

"_I highly doubt that."_

"_Really? I know how to do it and make it look like an accident."_

_Rie sighed. "You guys, come on. Please just pretend to like each other, for my sake?" Oshitari nodded. Rie turned to Niou. "Haru?" Niou thought for a minute before shrugging. She took that as a yes._

_She sat back down in between the boys. Or at least she tried._

_Niou picked her up, placed her on his lap, and then started kissing her. When they finished, she tried to get off him, but he wrapped his arms around her waist, preventing her from moving. He looked straight at Oshitari._

"_She is mine. Got it? Mine," he said deadly._

_Oshitari narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't be too sure about that."_

_Niou glared right back at him. "I'll fight you for her until the day you die."_

_Oshitari looked at him confused. "The expression is 'until the day I die'."_

_Niou rolled his eyes. "I know that. However, death won't stop me from fighting for her. Once I die, I'm gonna haunt the hell out of you."_

…

**AN: What did you think?**

**Review!**


	10. Their Journey Together

**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews!**

**So, who's ready for some more past and present with Niou and Rie?**

**Enjoy!**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 10: Their Journey Together**

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Niou asked apprehensively.

"What's wrong, Niou-san?"

"Do you remember when we first met?"

"… Yes… You were honestly rather annoying."

Niou looked away. "I meant when we first started going out."

Rie thought for a moment. "… Yes… I remember that also… You acted very much like a player."

"Didn't it bother you?" Niou asked.

"Not really. I'd been friends with Yuushi for years before I mett you so it didn't really bother me. However, you were very persistent."

Niou smirked. "It paid off eventually, too."

She stared at him. "Was it worth it?"

"Of course, we were kind of happy together."

Rie frowned. "That's not what I meant."

Niou stared ahead. He did know what she was talking about, and no, it hadn't been worth it.

_Flashback_

"_Hey," Niou said, throwing his arm around the girl._

"_Hello, Niou-san," she replied as she gently removed his hand from her shoulder._

"_Did you miss me?" he asked cheekily, wrapping his arms around her waist._

_Rie rolled her eyes. "Niou-san, please let go."_

"_Don't wanna."_

_She frowned. "Niou-san, let go."_

_Niou pouted. "But your body feels so nice to hold." His pout turned into a smirk when he saw her blush._

_She remained silent knowing he'd let her go._

"_Fine," he said, releasing her. "Happy?"_

"_Ecstatic."_

"_Well, what do you want to do today?"_

"_It doesn't really matter to me."_

"_Let's get some ice cream," Niou suggested, and without waiting for her answer he started heading down the street._

_Sighing, she followed the silver-haired boy._

_They entered the ice cream shop and grabbed a booth. Then the waiter came over and asked what they wanted._

"_We'll have an ice cream sundae," Niou answered before Rie could even open her mouth._

"_What are you doing?" Rie asked once the waiter had left._

"_Is there something wrong with me ordering ice cream for my girl?" he asked, seemingly innocent._

"_Not really, but considering I'm not your 'girl' I don't think that applies to the situation."_

"_Aw, that hurt."_

_Rie rolled her eyes._

"_Don't be so cold. This is a date after all."_

"_This isn't a date," she replied smoothly. _

_Niou looked at her with puppy dog eyes that could give Akaya a run for his money._

"_What?"_

"_Oh come on, how can you say 'no' to all this?" he asked smirking at her._

"_Actually, Niou-san, it's quite easy."_

"_Dang, a hit right in the ego," he chuckled_

"_Can't you be serious?" she asked exasperatedly._

"_Serious? Me? Nope, sorry, serious ain't my forte."_

"_Isn't."_

"_Isn't what?"_

"_Proper grammar would be 'serious isn't my forte' not 'ain't'," she corrected._

"_Whatever."_

_They sat in silence for a little while until Niou couldn't take it anymore._

"_Who are you engaged to?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_You said you were engaged. Who to?"_

"_You don't know him."_

"_Well what's his name?"_

"_Why do you wish to know?"_

"_Because I want to know what I'm up against," he smirked._

"_His name is Oshitari Yuushi. He's a regular at Hyotei."_

"_Hmm… really…. So I'm up against some stuffed shirt?"_

"_No," she turned to look at him, "you're up against my best friend."_

_Niou stared at her and one thing ran through his mind:_

_Oh, shit._

_End Flashback_

…

They weren't here to relive their past. It's was behind them and it didn't do anyone any good to dwell on it. They were here to talk about his bullying of Akaya and how it needed to stop.

"Niou-san, let's get back on track. You need to stop bullying Akaya-kun," she said firmly.

"Why? It's not that big a deal. Me and Marui always bug him about stuff," he replied shrugging.

"First of all, it's 'Marui and I', and second of all, that doesn't make it right."

"Well why do you care?" he shot back.

Rie sighed. This was going to get them nowhere. "Niou-san, what's it going to take to get you to stop being mean to Akaya-kun?"

"Be my girlfriend again," he said simply.

Rie stared at him in shock. Had he planned this? Was he trying to use her good nature to help others against her? "What?"

"Got out with me again and I'll leave the brat alone."

"… I… that's not… Niou-san, I fail to see how the two of those relate."

Niou shrugged. "It's his fault."

"…"

"What?"

Rie took a deep breath trying to calm herself. "Niou-san, it is not Akaya-kun's fault we broke up."

Niou shrugged. "It kind of is."

Rie stared at him. "How?" she hissed. "Did he force you to go out with her? Did he force you to kiss her?"

"So what? That doesn't mean he has the right to move in on you," he shot back.

"Niou-san," she said exasperatedly, "I am tutoring him. We aren't dating."

"Whatever."

Rie sighed. She'd never get through to him at this rate.

…

He woke up the next morning completely tired. His meeting with Rie hadn't gone very well yesterday.

Within 20 minutes he was showered, dressed, and on his way to Rikkai. He was on time, barely, and went to change in the clubhouse. When he came out, he noticed something off. Someone was there that had never been there before. However, amongst all the fangirls, he couldn't tell who.

So, shrugging it off, he went to warm up. "Hey, brattling," he said throwing an arm around Akaya.

"Hi, Niou-senpai," Akaya replied softly.

"Akaya, Yagyuu, finish warming up and go start a match," Yukimura said from across the court.

Yagyuu nodded and made his way towards the empty court.

"Good luck, brattling, you're gonna need it," Niou smirked.

Akaya hung his head and made his way to the court where Yagyuu was waiting.

"Let's have a good match," the Gentleman said, holding out his hand.

"Yeah, let's have fun, Yagyuu-senpai," Akaya answered, shaking his hand.

About ten minutes into the game, the score was 3-1 in Yagyuu's favor.

Niou was, of course, cheering on Yagyuu. He loved watching Akaya try to beat his partner, mainly because he knew it was hopeless. No one survived long against the Gentleman.

"Players, please re-enter the court," Yanagi said from the referee's chair.

As the two players entered the court, and Yagyuu got ready to serve, one familiar, feminine voice shouted out:

"Come on, Akaya-kun, you can do it!"

The regulars turned toward the voice and saw that it was none other than Kumiko Rie.

They turned back to the game, and the players went into position.

However, Niou's eyes narrowed at the new fire that burned in Akaya's eyes.

Why was Akaya trying to impress Rie, rather than Yukimura?

This was not a good sign.

…

**AN: I'm really sorry, but I won't be explaining the tennis matches for the most part. I don't really know how.**

**How was it?**

**Also, I want your opinions on a sequel. Would you guys want that or would you prefer it just be one story?**

**Review!**


	11. A Twist of Fate

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews!**

**Okay, ending decision is that there will be no sequel.**

**I'm really, really sorry about the late update! There's been a lot going on with school and family and all that.**

**So, to say I'm sorry, here's an extra long chapter! It has a lot of switching between Rie and Niou, so bear with me. J**

**Enjoy!**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 11: A Twist of Fate**

Rie smiled as she watched Akaya run towards her.

"Rie-chan! Rie-chan! Look what I got on my English test!" he screamed down the hall. He stopped right before almost crashing into her.

She looked at the test he had shoved at her. Her eyes widened. He had almost gotten a perfect score! "Congratulations, Akaya-kun!"

He gave her one of his silly grins. "It's all thanks to you."

Rie smiled at him. "No, it's all you. You're the one who did amazing on the test. You know what? We should go celebrate."

Akaya's smile widened. "Okay, Rie-chan, I have to go to tennis practice now, but we can plan it later?"

"We'll go this weekend, okay? It'll be so much fun." She gave him a tight hug.

"See you later, Rie-chan!"

As she watched him run away, she couldn't help but wonder something.

Why exactly was he blushing?

…

Niou was pissed, absolutely and completely pissed off.

At the moment, he was glaring holes into the board where his teacher was writing their math homework. He barely even paid attention to it though; he was too preoccupied thinking of Rikkai's Tennis Team's Junior Ace.

He couldn't believe it! After everything they'd been through the brat was trying to steal his girl! Niou knew it for sure now. There was no denying it now. Not after the game.

_Flashback_

_The game progressed and Akaya was pushing back hard. The current score was 4-5 in Akaya's favor. At it would seem, Rie's appearance at the match was just the push Akaya needed._

_Akaya, surprisingly not in Devil's mode, hadn't stopped attacking. Yagyuu, who was sweating profusely, showed only a hint of anger _–_ or was it disappointment – on his normally completely stoic face. Yukimura looked pleased._

_Niou, on the other hand, looked ready to kill. He stormed out of the courts and walked towards Rie. She was still watching the game intensely when he grabbed her by the arm. He ignored her questions as he dragged her towards the school. He didn't let her go until they were in an empty classroom. Ignoring her questioning look, he walked towards a window._

_Rie sighed. "Niou-san, what's wrong this time?"_

_He knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to yell that she'd come to Akaya's match. That she cared more for Akaya than she did for him, but why wouldn't she? What claim did he, Niou, have on her anymore? None and it was killing him. Just thinking of her with anyone else made his blood boil. He can't count the number of times he'd almost ripped someone's head off for the way they talked about Rie, his Rie._

"_Niou-san," she grabbed his arm, successfully pulling him out of his thoughts, "if you don't answer me, I'm going to go back down to the tennis courts."_

"_Rie… I…," he didn't finish. He couldn't. She'd only hate him more._

_Rie stared at him._

"_Why?" he asked abruptly._

_She looked startled. "Why what?"_

"_Why'd you come to Akaya's match?"_

"_Why does it matter?"_

"_Because…," he mumbled the end of the sentence quietly._

"_Excuse me?"_

"_You came to his…," he started mumbling again._

"_Niou-san, talk clearly or I'm leaving."_

"_You came to his game… but never to mine," he said quietly._

_Rie shrugged. "You never wanted me there."_

"_Why would you think that?"_

"_Isn't it true?" she asked, facing him._

"_I… No… I'm not sure."_

"_Well, Niou-san, that's kind of unhelpful."_

"_Rie… can I ask you something?"_

"_What's up?"_

"_Do you like Akaya?"_

_For moment, Rie just stared at him. "I… Why do you ask?"_

_Niou's eyes narrowed. "Why are you avoiding the question?"_

"_I'm not. I just want to know what made you curious."_

_There were a few moments of silence, and then Niou blurted out, "I think he likes you."_

"_Why would you think that?" she asked slowly._

"_Well… he… I just think he does."_

"_That's not a very convincing argument."_

"_Shut up."_

_End Flashback_

…

"Excuse me?"

Rie looked up in surprise. She wasn't expecting to see Yukimura. As odd as it may seem, out of all the members on the tennis team, Yukimura was the one she talked to the least.

"Can I help you Yukimura-san?" She knew she probably sounded too formal, but that's the way she was raised.

"Do you think we could talk in private?"

"Okay, sure." She stood up, got a pass, and left. It was study hall and all her homework was finished, so it didn't really matter. "What's on your mind?" she asked when they arrived outside.

"It's about Akaya," he started.

Oh no… was what Niou said true?

"What about him?"

"What are your feelings toward him?"

She thought for a moment. "I'm not quite sure how to answer that."

"Do you like him?" he asked bluntly.

Rie raised an eyebrow. "I certainly don't dislike him."

"That's not answering the question."

"Well I apologize but your question is unclear."

"Do you like Akaya?" he asked, this time a little more harshly.

"Yes. He's a very good friend."

"What about more than a friend?"

"I…," she stopped. How could she answer this? In truth, Akaya was like a brother to her, but if he asked her out, she knew she'd say yes out of love and kindness. "I'm not sure."

"If he asked you out, what would you say?" he asked slowly.

"I'd probably say yes. Why is this so important?"

Yukimura sighed. "I believe that Akaya will be asking you out this weekend."

Rie's brow furrowed. "We're already going out… Are you sure?"

Yukimura nodded. "He mentioned it at practice this morning when he showed me his English test. He seemed very excited."

"Oh, no…"

"What?"

"I think Akaya believes that we have a date this weekend…" Rie bite her lip in worry.

"Do you?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"But you said that you were going out with him this weekend." Yukimura's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, but not 'going out' as in a couple, but 'going out' as in friends."

"I see…"

"This is bad, isn't it?"

Yukimura only nodded.

…

At the moment, they were warming up for afternoon practice. And everyone was wondering why Akaya was smiling as if he'd won the lottery. All the regulars, meaning Niou and Marui, were trying to get him to spill the beans, but he wouldn't say a word.

"Yagyuu?"

"Yes, Niou-kun?" he replied. He wasn't facing him, due to the fact that he was fixing his raquet strings.

"Why do you think that Bakaya is so happy?"

Yagyuu turned to face him, arms crossed. "Excuse me?"

"I asked what do you think about Bakaya being so happy."

"Who?"

"Bakaya."

Yagyuu just stared at him.

"Fine, the brattling then."

Yagyuu's eyes narrowed.

"Oh my god, Yagyuu. Akaya, then, why do you think he's so happy?" Niou asked exasperatedly.

"I find it rather pleasurable. He hasn't gone into Devil mode at all today."

"You are so useless sometimes," Niou said over his shoulder as he walked over to Yanagi.

"I can't tell you," Yanagi said, the moment Niou had opened his mouth.

Niou looked at him amused. "What can't you tell me?"

"You were to ask me why Akaya is so happy, weren't you?" he replied, not taking his closed eyes off the current match between Marui and a non-regular.

"New question then, how come you can't you tell me why?"

"It's been requested by Yukimura-buchou for me not to tell you."

Niou's eyes narrowed. Why wouldn't Yukimura want him to know?

…

Akaya had asked her to come to her practice, but with what she'd just found out, she wasn't sure it was a good idea.

Rie was walking out of Rikkai when a black limo pulled up to the front.

"Hello, darling."

She nodded in acknowledgement. "Hello, Atobe-san."

Atobe smirked. "What no kiss?"

Rie laughed, but nonetheless she walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Or at least she tried.

Atobe moved at the last second and caught her lips with his. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

When Rie was finally able to detach him from her, she saw the Rikkai regulars staring at her. More importantly, she saw Akaya, and the look he gave her all but broke her heart.

She turned to Atobe. "I'll be right back." She ran over to Akaya. "Look, Akaya-kun, it's not what you think."

"Why's he here?"

"Atobe… to be honest, I'm not completely sure."

"Why'd you kiss him?" Akaya's eyes bore into hers.

"I didn't mean to."

"…"

Rie sighed. "Look, Akaya-kun, I went to prep school in France. And in France, people kiss each other on the cheek for greeting."

Akaya crossed his arms over his chest. "You kissed him for real though." The hurt in his voice was almost tangible.

"I wasn't trying to. Atobe's just an idiot."

Akaya didn't look convinced.

"Akaya," Yukimura said softly, "let's go. It's team night tonight, so we'll talk about it later."

Akaya nodded and they started to walk away.

Rie started to panic. She really did hate it when people were upset with her. "Akaya-kun, wait!"

Akaya turned around expectantly.

Rie bit down on her lip. It was now or never. She walked over to him quickly and kissed him on the lips.

When they broke away, she was flushed and he was smiling one of his goofy smiles that took up his entire face.

"Buchou?"

"Yes, Akaya?"

"Can Rie-chan come to team night?"

Yukimura opened his mouth only to close it right away. He sighed and nodded.

Rie took in the reactions of the rest of the team. "Akaya-kun," she said softly, "I don't think that's a great idea."

He turned to her with big eyes. "You don't want to come?"

How could she say deny him when he was looking at her like that? "I'd love to come." She smiled. "As long as it's okay with the rest of the team," she added.

All of the regulars, minus Niou, either shrugged or mumbled yes. With all eyes on Niou, he shook his head. They turned to Yukimura to see what he'd say.

"It's up to Kumiko-san," he said simply.

They stared at her. "I… guess…" She looked at Akaya, who looked so happy he might explode, and then moved her eyes to Niou, who looked ready to kill.

…

He stormed off. He couldn't believe! First, she kissed Akaya, in front of him. Then she agrees to come to team night to wave it in front of his face.

"Niou-kun," Yagyuu said, grabbing his arm.

"No, I don't want to hear it. And I'm not going to team night if she's going to be there." He wrenched his arm out of Yagyuu's grasp.

Yagyuu sighed. "I think that you're blowing this all out of proportion."

"No I'm not! Rie is my girlfriend and Akaya can't just take her!"

"Was," Yagyuu replied calmly.

"What are you talking about?" Niou seethed.

"Kumiko-san was your girlfriend. She's no longer with you, so she's free to date whomever she pleases."

"But that's not right! We're teammates! Akaya should know better," Niou said stubbornly.

"Really? That's how you treat him, right? Like a teammate?" he replied almost bitterly.

Niou looked away. He knew he probably wasn't the best senpai, but he'd never do anything that would really hurt the brat.

"Look, Niou-kun, just come to team night and if it's really that awful, then you can leave," Yagyuu reasoned.

Niou nodded.

It couldn't possibly turn out that bad.

Could it?

…

Rie was standing in front of her closet trying to find something to wear.

"Rie?"

"Hey, Yuushi," she answered as he kissed her.

"I'm really sorry for what Atobe did today."

"It's fine. Everything worked out in the end."

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to find something to wear to team night," she answered somewhat offhandedly.

"Team night?" he questioned sounding suspicious.

"Yeah, Akaya-kun invited me."

"You aren't going."

"Yes I am."

"No you aren't," he said, more forcefully this time.

"Yuushi, you're being overprotective again."

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone with eight guys."

"You'd be okay if it was Hyotei," she replied evenly.

"Because I'd be there with you," he answered.

"Yuushi, please I really want to go." Her voice was partly whining, but she didn't care.

"No."

Rie thought for a moment. "I have a solution."

"What?"

"Come with me."

…

**AN: So what did you think?**

**Review!**


	12. A Change of Plan

**AN: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Oh my goodness, it's been a month since I've updated! I'm so sorry! I tried to make this a long chapter.**

**Just a fair warning, there's a lot of switching between Niou and Rie in this chapter, you have been warned…**

**Enjoy!**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 12: A Change of Plans**

It was difficult to accept that Rie was going to team night. What made it worse is that she wasn't going for him.

"Niou-kun," a voice said, pulling him from his thoughts. "Are you ready to go?"

Niou sighed. "Sure thing, Yagyuu; just hold on a second." He grabbed his backpack and sleeping bag. "Let's do this."

Yagyuu eyed Niou's backpack warily. "What's in there, Niou-kun?"

The white haired boy rolled his eyes. "Relax; it's just normal sleepover stuff."

Yagyuu accepted it, although still suspicious.

"Tonight's going to be so much fun!" Niou said randomly, which caused Yagyuu to send him a look. "What?"

"Do I even want to know?"

Niou shook his head in mock disapprove. "Geez, Yagyuu, way to expect the worst. Here I am trying to be positive and you just shot me down. That hurt. That hurt me right here." He pointed to his heart after wiping away a fake tear.

Yagyuu opened his mouth to responded, but thought it'd be better to let Niou be Niou.

…

"Gakuto-kun, you can't come."

"But, Rie-chan, Yuushi gets to go!"

"Gakuto, please, you need to go home."

Mukahi started to pout.

"Atobe-san, do you think you could get him to move?" Rie asked.

Atobe smiled at her. "Of course, Ore-sama was taught to help damsels in distress. Kabaji," Atobe snapped his fingers and said boy picked Mukahi up. Atobe moved closer to Rie. "Ore-sama wants you to be careful tonight. Ore-sama would hate it if something happened to his princess."

Yuushi narrowed his eyes and stepped in between Atobe and Rie. "Don't worry, Atobe, I'll take care of her. That means you can keep your distance."

Rie sighed. "Yuushi, don't make a scene."

His eyes softened as he looked at her. "Come on then. We wouldn't want to be late." He wrapped his arm around her and they started walking again.

Rie giggled. "Just remember, Yuushi, I haven't asked them if you can come yet. Right now you're just walking me here."

"If you're staying, I'm staying."

"Yuushi, you're being difficult."

"Promise me."

"Yuushi, you can't expect me to-"

"Rie," Yuushi said sternly.

Rie sighed. "Fine, I promise. I stay, you stay."

Yuushi rewarded her answer with a breathtaking smile, which Rie rolled her eyes in response.

…

"Where's Rie-chan?"

"I don't know."

"Is she here yet?"

"I don't know."

"When's she going to get here?"

"I don't know!"

"Where-"

"Shut up!" Niou shouted. Akaya had been asking him questions like that for the past twenty minutes.

"Niou," Yukimura said, walking up behind Akaya. "Be nice. Its Akaya's first time in love. He's a little excited."

"Hey, Akaya, your girlfriend's almost here," Marui said, slinging his arm around the younger boy.

Akaya blushed. "She's not my girlfriend, Marui-senpai!"

Niou rolled his eyes. Akaya really was an idiot. They all, including Rie, knew he liked her.

"I'll get it," Akaya said quickly when they heard a knock at the door. When he came back he looked slightly confused. "Mura-buchou, Rie-chan wants to talk to you."

A flash of surprise was present of Yukimura's face. "I'll be right back then."

Niou smirked. "Well, brat, looks like Rie is done with you."

Akaya's lips started to tremble as he turned away from the rest of the team. "I'll be back in a minute. I need to use the bathroom."

"Niou-kun," Yagyuu said sternly, "you can't go and say things like that."

"Like what? I know –"

"Everyone, we need to talk," Yukimura said, coming back into the room. "Wait… Where's Akaya?"

"Niou pissed him off," Marui answered, popping a bubble.

Niou rolled his eyes when Yukimura gave him a look. "All I said was the truth. I know you've all wondered. You've wondered about why Rie's even bothering with Akaya. Yukimura," he turned to the captain, "you've already talked to her. You're worried that she's stringing Akaya along because, let's face it, he's nothing like me."

"Actually, Masaharu-kun, there's a 78% chance that that's why she chose him," Yanagi said as he and Sanada, both who had just arrived, walking into the room. "Seiichi, may I ask why Hyotei's tennis team is outside?"

"Ah, that's actually what I came to ask you. Kumiko-san would like to know if Oshitari-san may stay as well."

"No."

"Niou, chill it's just-"

"Shut up, Marui, I said no."

"But what if-"

"No!"

…

"They aren't going to agree."

"They might."

"They won't."

"You don't know that."

"It's the most likely possibility."

"Yuushi, that isn't helping."

Yuushi offered her a smile and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Rie-chan, I have a question for you."

"Hmm?"

"What if Ore-sama and his team had a team night? Would you want to come to ours instead?"

"Um… I guess so," Rie answered cautiously.

Atobe pulled her out of Yuushi's arms and into his. Rie blushed bright red when he started kissing her neck.

"Atobe, stop!" snarled Yuushi.

"Kumiko-chan?" said Yukimura as he came back out.

"Yes?"

"Oshitari-san can't stay. I'm sorry."

"Oh… well can you tell Akaya-kun that I'm sorry but I won't be able to stay."

Yukimura frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. You were just asking if Oshitari-san could stay, but now that he can't stay neither can you.

Rie bit her lip. "It's just that Yuushi was worried about me coming so he had me promise that I'd only stay if he could."

"I see…"

"Just please tell Akaya-kun that I'm sorry and that I'll make it up to him."

Yukimura nodded. "I'm sure he'll understand."

Rie smiled in relief. "That's great then."

"Rie, we should get going," Yuushi said as he started to pull her towards Atobe's limo.

"Bye, Yukimura-san, I'll see you at school on Monday."

Rie and the members of Hyotei climbed into Atobe's limo and they drove off.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Yuushi asked as he noted the girl's almost forlorn face.

"I don't know… I just feel really bad for just ditching Akaya-kun like that. I didn't even say hello to him…"

Yuushi frowned. He didn't want his girl to worry about such petty things. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"Oh but he will, Yuushi. What am I going to do? He's going to hate me."

With a sigh, he replied, "Just relax, Rie, I'll take care of everything." And with that he started talking to Atobe.

Rie leaned her head against the cold glass of the window. It was so odd. A month ago, she still would have been thinking about a guy, but he wouldn't have been the childish, adorable Akaya. She would have thought about her then-boyfriend, the wild, crazy, player known as Niou Masaharu. For the time being, she wasn't completely sure who she wanted.

…

Akaya was crestfallen when Yukimura had given him the news. And Niou loved it! He knew that his Rie would ever stoop so low as to go out with Akaya. She'd probably just said yes out of pity.

"Akaya, I'm really sorry," Yukimura said for the nth time.

Akaya sighed. "Its fine, buchou, I was just hoping… Did she say why?"

"I believe it was something having to do with Oshitari-san."

Akaya's bottom lip started to tremble.

Niou rolled his eyes. This was pathetic! "Look, brat, one thing you have to learn if you like Rie is that Oshitari-baka is _always_ with her. He has some issues with her dating guys. I mean, he acts like her dad or something."

Akaya tilted his head in confusion. "Why would he do that?"

Niou stared at him. Was he really this ignorant? "Because, brat, they're best friends."

"So? Yagyuu-sempai doesn't do that to you."

Taking a deep breath, while fighting the urge to start hitting his head against the wall, Niou started to explain to them about Oshitari and Rie's relationship. He decided to omit the part about them being engaged, better to let Akaya figure that out on his own.

"Niou, do you think that you could-," Marui started, but was interrupted when Niou pulled out his cell phone to answer it.

"Hello? … What do you want? … Why? ... Well duh. Who doesn't? … I guess I could. … Now? … Geez, no need to be hurtful, a simple yes would have been enough. … Really? That's cool. … Whatever. … Bye."

"What was that all about?" Marui asked.

"That was Oshitari-baka. We need to go. Team night has been moved to Atobe's place."

Yagyuu sighed. "Niou-kun, you should really ask Yukimura-buchou about things like this before you just go and do it."

"I know I should… I just choose not to."

Yagyuu shook his head in frustration. Niou would never change. He looked at Yukimura, silently asking if he was okay with this.

"Is Atobe-san is okay with this, Niou?" Sanada asked.

He only shrugged. "I'm going to assume so, if he's not then its Oshitari-baka's fault. But I highly doubt that he'll turn us away once we get there."

"Why's that?" Jackal questioned.

"Two reasons: one, Oshitari-baka is a tensai so he'll just annoy Atobe till he lets us stay and two, because Rie's probably with them and she'll most likely beg him to let us stay."

"I see…"

…

"I can't believe you can read that."

"What are you talking about?"

"Yuushi, you're reading _Romeo and Juliet_."

"And?"

"What do you mean 'and'?"

"Well, I fail to see what the problem is. I find it to be very enjoyable."

"It's about a girl who's like thirteen and a guy who's like sixteen falling in love, getting married, having sex, and then dying. All in the course of like… three days!"

"… That's a very crude way to put it."

Rie groaned. "You're impossible."

Yuushi smirked at her. "Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

He just chuckled and pulled her close to him. "You know, we should go away for the weekend. We hardly spend any time together anymore."

"We see each other at least every other day. And talk on the phone almost every night," she reminded him.

"It's just whenever we're together it's with the whole team. Remember last year? We'd just leave for the entire week and go to the beach or the lake or the mountains. We'd spend the days talking about anything, about everything, and just enjoying each other's company. I miss that."

Rie snuggled closer to her. "I do, too. We'll do that again soon, I promise."

"Rie-chan!" Jirou shouted, running full speed into the room. Most of the time he was asleep, but when he was awake, he was _really_ awake. "Look what I got!" He held out a large, fuzzy stuffed dog.

"Aw, that's so cute, Jirou." She smiled at the wide-eyed blond boy. He was just like a little kid sometimes.

"Ore-sama supposes that it's a good thing his parents aren't here," Atobe stated as he walked into the room. He was followed by the other members of Hyotei.

"Atobe-sama," said one of the butlers, "you have more guests."

Rie stared at him. "Who else is here, Atobe-san?"

"Let them in," he said to the butler. And to Rie he said, "You'll see."

She watched in confusion as the eight regulars of the Rikkai tennis team walked into the room. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand."

"Rikkai will be joining us for team night," Atobe explained. "It was Oshitari's idea."

Rie's face slowly broke into a smile as she tackled Yuushi in a hug. "Thank you so much, Yuushi!"

He smiled at her. "It's no problem. After all, we were meant to be together."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Akaya asked frowning. He didn't like how that sounded.

"They're getting married!" Mukahi shouted jumping up in the air.

"What?"

…

**AN: So it wasn't team night… I wanted to be able to dedicate an entire chapter to team night, which you'll find out why later, so I didn't want to have to have half the chapter be getting ready for it. Does that make sense?**

**I hope you liked it and I promise I'll have the next chapter up soon.**

**Review!**


	13. Team Night plus a Problem

**AN: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Oh no… I've really fallen back into my habit of never updating. I'm really sorry I had exams and I really needed to do well.**

**Also, I've started working on the next story. It's Sanada x OC, so more Rikkai! And I watch the Prince of Tennis Musical Dream Live 1****st****! I totally started to fangirl over Fuji (Kimeru)!**

**Okay, so I'm two days late to dedicate this chapter to Ryoma… Oh well! Happy belated birthday, Ryoma-kun!**

**This chapter is has not had a beta look over it. You have been warned.**

**Enjoy!**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 13: Team Night plus a Problem**

"So what exactly are we going to do for team night?" Ootori asked, breaking the silence.

They turned to Atobe. "Ore-sama thinks that we should start with some group bonding."

"Like what? That stupid fall back into someone's arms thing?"

"Well, Shishido, Ore-sama didn't ask for your opinion. Right, Kabaji?"

"Usu."

"What about truth or dare?" Niou suggested.

"No."

Everyone turned towards Rie.

"Why not?" asked Gakuto.

"Because it's stupid," she replied, turning away for them. Gakuto stuck his tongue out at her, causing Rie to roll her eyes. "Very mature."

"Well," he smirked, "I am older than you."

Yuushi wrapped his arms around the younger girl as she started to pout. "Yuushi," she said, in a voice as sweet as honey, "Gakuto-kun is being mean to me again."

Yuushi looked at his doubles partner. "Gakuto, that's no way to treat a lady." His voice held a mock sternness in it which in turn made Gakuto start to pout.

"Yuushi, you're so mean!"

"Yeah, Yuushi, you shouldn't be so harsh to poor little Gakuto-kun."

Yuushi stared at Rie. Honestly, at times she could be downright bipolar.

"Gakuto-kun, I'm sorry for Yuushi's meanness," she said, looking at the acrobat.

Gakuto smiled at her. "It's okay. I'm used to it by now."

The other Hyotei regulars had been watching the exchange only slightly amused. They were almost used to it by now… Meanwhile, the Rikkai regulars had sat through it rather awkwardly.

"So is that a yes for truth or dare?" Niou asked.

"No," Rie answered quickly.

"No?"

"Yes."

"Wait, yes?"

"What? No."

"So… no?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Niou Masaharu, I swear if you do that one more time I'll hurt you!" Rie was used to Niou's stupid games, but she still hated them and got annoyed surprisingly easy.

"But, Rie, darling," he started, "Akaya really loves truth or dare."

"Yeah, it's so much fun!" the second year stated. He had already started jumping up and down with excitement.

Rie bit her lip uneasily. On one hand, she was almost positively she knew what Niou was planning… But on the other hand, she did own Akaya for leaving the Rikkai team night without seeing him. She sighed in defeat. "I guess truth or dare isn't that bad."

Niou smirked in response. "Everyone, form a circle so it will be easier. You get two chickens, one for a truth and one for a dare. If someone chickens out your can't ask/dare the same thing again. Other than those each time you want to chicken out there will be a penalty. And no dare repeats."

"Niou-kun, I think there should be some rules about what is allowed to be asked or dared," Yagyuu spoke up."

"Good idea, Yagyuu. For dares, nothing that can hurt the person being dared or anyone else. And for truths… um… I don't know. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Okay. Now I think Rie should get to ask first," Yukimura said, smiling.

Everyone turned to her as she scanned the group of boys carefully. "Yuushi," she said innocently, "truth or dare?"

Yuushi thought hard for a moment before replying. "Truth."

"Hmm… Who's your favorite team mate?"

"…"

"Yuushi?"

"Must I answer?"

"Yes. I'm afraid you must."

"I… I suppose it would be… I think it's a tie."

Rie scoffed. "Yeah right! You just don't want to have to choose between Gakuto-kun and Atobe-san."

The Hyotei regulars, minus Gakuto, Atobe, and Kabaji, snickered.

"That's not true."

"Then answer."

Yuushi sighed. He knew he was going to have to answer sooner or later. "Gakuto."

"Ha!" Gakuto shouted, jumping up from his seat. "In your face, Atobe! Yuushi likes me better! Yuushi likes me better!" Gakuto started doing a victory dance… At least that's what the others assumed it was.

Atobe narrowed his eyes at the red head and watched as Yuushi and Ootori tried to calm Gakuto down.

"Niou-san," Yuushi said trying to get them back on track.

"Yes, Oshitari-baka?"

Yuushi twitched. "What did you just say to me?"

…

Niou smirked at the reaction. "I said 'yes, Oshitari-baka?'"

Oshitari looked as though he was going to say something. But in the end he replied simply. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," the silver haired boy replied.

Oshitari thought for a moment before smirking. "I dare you to quit tennis for the rest of the year."

For a moment the world seemed to stop. Everyone stared at Oshitari in shock. Then Rikkai erupted in a chorus of "What?", "Are you insane?", "Stop messing around!", "and "No way!".

"Haha! Awesome dare, Yuushi!" Gakuto said doubling over in laughter.

Niou frowned. This didn't sit well with him. Obviously he'd use his chicken, so why had Oshitari-baka dared him? "I'm gone use my chicken."

Oshitari smiled. "Okay, so you're going to use your _one_ chicken. Your turn."

The Rikkai regular felt like face palming. How did he not realize that was what Oshitari-baka getting at? Oh well, what's done is done. "Oi, Akaya, truth or dare?"

"… Truth."

"Who's your favorite person in this room?"

Akaya's mouth fell open and his eyes grew wide.

The Rikkai regulars turned and faced him, all of them waiting for the answer.

"I… My favorite person is…" 

"Come on, Akaya, it should be an obvious answer," Niou said. Inwardly, he was rolling on the floor laughing. He knew that normally the brat would say Yukimura, but since Rie was here he was probably freaking out. Niou knew that Rie wouldn't really care either way, and that Yukimura would understand no matter what.

"It's Yukimura-buchou," Akaya blurted out.

Oshitari leaned over and whispered into Rie's ear, causing the girl to frown. Her eyes slid over to Akaya then back to Oshitari. She whispered something back quickly as she shook her head.

Akaya's shoulders slumped. Worry was apparent in his eyes.

"Akaya," Yukimura spoke up, "it's your turn to chose someone."

Akaya looked around. "Rie-chan, truth or dare?"

"Um… I guess I'll be the first to pick truth."

"Why are you getting married? I thought we were dating," he said the second softly with a slightly hurt tone.

Rie's brow furrowed. "Married?"

"He," Akaya pointed to Mukahi, "said that you and Oshitari were getting married."

"Oh, that!" Rie's face broke out in understanding. "We aren't getting married. You don't need to worry about it. We were engaged, but that was back before Niou and I started dating."

"Okay!" Akaya smiled brightly at her.

"So… Marui-san, truth or dare?"

Niou noticed that a few of the Hyotei regulars were pouting slightly due to the fact that Rie hadn't chosen them.

"Dare, of course!"

"I… dare you to spend the rest of the night with Jirou-kun."

"Yippee!" Jirou shouted jumping up and down, meanwhile Marui sweat dropped.

"I think my chicken will-," he started, but when he noticed the kicked puppy look Jirou was giving him, he stopped. "I think we're going to be best friends by the time tonight is over." Jirou squealed and glomped Marui.

Jirou beamed at Rie. "Thank you so much, Rie-chan!" He got up and glomped her as well.

"No problem, Jirou-kun."

"Marui, it's your turn," Jackal said softly to his doubles partner.

"Right! Let's see… Sanada, truth or dare?"

"Dare," the capped boy said.

"I dare you not to give us laps for all of next week!"

"No."

"You have to!"

"No."

"Yukimura-buchou, he has to right?"

"Well, Marui, he could use his chicken."

"Che, Sanada a chicken? Wait till I tell everyone at school."

"Niou-kun, you shouldn't say things like that."

"Genichirou, there's a 79% chance that if you use your chicken now that Masaharu-kun will have something worse for you later."

"Fine, no laps. Atobe, truth or dare?"

"… Ore-sama chooses dare."

"I… I dare you not to say 'ore-sama' for the rest of the night."

Atobe gapped at him. "Pardon?"

"All it means is you have to say 'I' instead of 'ore-sama'. That is… unless you're chicken."

Atobe glared at Sanada. "Ore… I… I mean I'm not chicken."

Sanada smirked slightly. "Then it's your turn."

"Rie, truth or dare?"

Rie stared at Atobe. "But, Atobe-san, I already went."

"Ore… I don't care."

"Um… dare."

"I dare you to… kiss Yukimura."

…

Rie could feel the blush creeping its way onto her face. Things like this are why she hates playing this pointless game. She knew that Akaya and Yukimura were probably expecting her to use her chicken, but she couldn't. Niou most likely had a thousand tricks up his sleeve to make her say something against Yuushi or Akaya.

"What are you going to do, Rie? Yuushi asked her quietly.

With a sigh she stood and walked over to Yukimura. She could feel the sixteen pairs of eyes watching her as she knelt down in front of Yukimura. Taking a deep breath she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Yukimura's.

For a moment it seemed as if the world stopped. Then the next moment, all of hell broke loose.

Yukimura jerked away for the girl, which startled her causing her to trip. Yuushi and Atobe, who thought Yukimura pushed her, was up in a second. To former was checking on Rie while the latter started yelling at Yukimura. When Sanada saw that, he started to yell at Atobe. Then, Shishido made a boorish comment about Yukimura and Sanada, so of course Niou and Marui had to defend their captain and vice-captain. However when Jirou tried to get Marui's attention, the self-proclaimed tensai accidently hit the boy due to his wild hand motions. When Jirou started to cry Atobe began yelling again, but this time it was Marui. Meanwhile, Ootori was trying to comfort Jirou and quiet Shishido, Jackal was trying to comfort Akaya, Yagyuu was trying to get Niou to stop screaming insults at the Hyotei regulars, Gakuto was jumping up and down cheering on his team mates, Yuushi was trying to stop Gakuto, Yanagi was trying to calm down Sanada and reassure Yukimura, Kabaji was simply sitting there watching the madness around him, and Hiyoshi had left earlier to go to the bathroom and when he saw the fight in progress he simply stayed away.

"Stop fighting! You're all being stupid!"

There was silence as they stared at Rie. Her cheeks were stained with tears and she was shaking.

Yuushi was at her side in a second. "Rie, are you alright?"

"I hate listening to all this screaming," she said, her voice shaking. "Can't we all just get along."

As the regulars watched her start to cry again, their expressions changed. Some of them filled with guilt and some with sorrow.

"Rie-chan?"

The girl looked up to see Akaya staring at her.

"Why did-"

"Akaya," she said, cutting him off, "can we please not talk about this right now. I don't think I can take it."

Akaya frowned but nonetheless nodded.

"Rie, maybe you should go lay down," Yuushi said.

"Oshitari's right," Atobe agreed as he motioned for one of his maids.

"You guys promise there won't be any trouble?"

"Cross my heart," Yuushi said with a smile.

"Relax, princess, nothing will go wrong," Atobe said, hugging the girl.

_Please, oh please, don't have let Atobe-san just jinx it_, Rie thought to herself as she left the room.

…

**AN: Okay, so be honest… Were that OOC? Tell me what you think!**

**Oh and I hope everyone had a good holiday!**

**Review!**


	14. A Simple Equation

**AN: Gah! I'm so sorry that it's taken me this long to update! I've been kind of busy lately, due to my life kind of falling apart. Plus, I got like half way through this chapter, realized it sucked, and had to rewrite it.**

**My updates will hopefully be getting better soon. I've been working on the next two stories, so those might be up soon. They'll probably be SanadaxOC or AtobexOC and TezukaxOC in case you wanted to know.**

**Also, there's a little bit of cussing in this chapter, just to warn you.**

**Enjoy!**

**-Coco**

…

**Chapter 14: A Simple Equation**

Niou looked up from his algebra homework when Yukimura cleared his throat. The senior regulars were having a meeting during their lunch break, and everyone was either cramming for a forgotten quiz – Marui, quietly observing everyone – Yanagi, waiting dutifully for Yukimura to start – Sanada, silently reading a novel – Yagyuu, trying to rest a bit before going back to class – Jackal, or waiting to start talking – Yukimura.

"Is everyone ready for me to begin?" the captain asked quietly. He gave a pointed look towards Niou and Marui.

"What?" The trickster looked down at his homework. "Oh this? It's the homework for tonight. I'm being a good boy and getting ahead."

"Meaning that he'll be busy with a prank tonight," Yagyuu said, putting his novel back into his bag.

Niou gasped. "Yagyuu, how could you say something that cruel? I thought we were supposed to be friends." He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye as the others, minus the Three Demons, chuckled.

"Masaharu-kun, as amusing as it must be for you to mock your doubles partner, I believe Seiichi has something to tell us."

"Thank you, Renji," Yukimura replied, smiling at the data master. "Now, we have a problem. You may have noticed that our youngest member isn't with us, that is because this little problem involves him."

Niou stiffened. He knew what Yukimura was talking about. They probably all did because Niou could feel the stares of his teammates on him as he finished his last problem.

Jackal cleared his throat. "So, Yukimura-buchou, what are we talking about?"

"I'm worried about Akaya. I've called you all here so that we can talk to Kumiko-chan."

"Talk to her? She's not here," Marui said, looking up from his history notes.

"She'll be here soon enough. What we need to figure out is what we're going to say to her."

"Let's just be straightforward and ask her if she's screwing with the brat."

"Niou-kun!"

"What? Buchou wants to know if she's just playing around with him. What did you think? ...Oh, you thought I meant she was ha-"

"Niou-kun, stop it!"

"Geez, Yagyuu, okay message received. No need to spazz."

…

Rie sat on the stairs between her floor and Akaya's. She needed to tell him that she'd be gone all next week. She and Yuushi were going to a beach resort and they were leaving tonight. She normally would just leave without telling anyone but she wasn't sure how Akaya would take that.

Her phone started buzzing and she saw that it was Yuushi. "Hey, Yuushi, what's up?"

"Hello, darling," he said seductively. "I just called to see if you got rid of our little problem."

Rie rolled her eyes. "Yuushi, he's not a problem. He's my boyfriend and he deserves to know."

"You just don't want the thing with Niou to happen again."

"Well I… I have to go. I'll call you later."

Rie sighed as she ran her hands up and down her face. She was so tired. More mentally than physically. And now she had to go deal with Yukimura and the rest of Akaya's team… and Niou. The frowning girl pushed off the stairs and took a deep breath. She'd known she'd have to deal with this at some point, but she had hoped it would've better later rather than sooner.

She stared forlorn at the stairs leading up to the roof. Why must all their confrontations be up there? Did they have some obsession with the roof of their school? Or were they planning to push her off and make it look like an accident? Rie shook her head. No, she decided, she was spending way too much time with Mukahi, and the red-headed acrobat was filling her head with nonsense.

Biting her lip, she started up the stairs. Confrontations had never really been her thing because confrontations usually lead to fighting. And fighting… well, she just hated it when people fought. She knew why too.

_Flashback_

"_Ryuu, darling, won't you just think about it?"_

"_Emi, we are not having this discussion. Rie is only ten," Kumiko Ryuu replied without looking at his wife._

"_But he's a nice boy," Emi said trying to reason with her husband._

"_He's also sixteen."_

"_And?"_

"_And? You are not marrying off my little girl to someone that much older than her."_

"_But-"_

"_They've never even met."_

"_Oh, Ryuu, that doesn't matter. They can meet after the arrangements are made."_

"_Emi, I said no. That is my final answer."_

_Rie was listening outside the door and flinched. She had never heard her dad use that tone before. He sounded really upset. She heard her mom say something else and then there was a crash. Rie bit her lip, it had always been one of her nervous habits, and walked into the room. She saw her mom and dad, but something was wrong. One her mom's china plates was laying shattered on the ground._

"_Daddy?" Rie said quietly._

_However, Kumiko Ryuu, in his anger, didn't even notice that Rie was there. "That's it, Emi! You've been trying to get rid of my little girl since she was five! What do you have against her?"_

"…" _Emi was too busy crying to reply._

"_What? You finally have nothing to say?" Ryuu continued, glaring at his wife._

_The small 10-year old, she had always been kind of small and vulnerable looking, walked up the angry man._

"_Daddy, please," she said quietly, wrapping her arms around her father's waist. "Stop."_

_Ryuu, seeing his daughter's tears, calmed. He looked from his daughter to the broken plate on the floor to his wife. "I… I'm sorry."_

_After that day, it took a little while, but things eventually got better. Not back to normal, but better._

_End Flashback_

…

Niou, as inconspicuously as possible, starred at the door. Where was Rie? Lunch would be ending soon and she still wasn't here.

The door to the roof opened. "Sorry I'm late!"

"It's fine, Kumiko-chan," Yukimura said smiling at the girl.

"So, what did you guys need to talk to me about?"

Her gaze swept over all the regulars and Niou thought she waited a second longer on him, but it could have just been wishful thinking.

"Kumiko-chan, why are you dating Akaya?" Yanagi asked bluntly.

Rie's mouth dropped open into an 'o'. "Um… I'm sorry, I don't see how that is any of your business… Did Akaya ask you guys to come talk to me?"

"No, we're just worried about him."

Niou rolled him eyes. We? Haha, what a joke. It was Yukimura who was worried. Niou knew that Rie won't hurt the brat.

"Well you don't need to be. I'm not going to hurt him. I really care about Akaya."

"But why do you love him?" Yanagi pressed.

"Yanagi-kun, have you never been in love?" Rie asked suddenly.

"No I haven't," Yanagi answered, watching her.

"That's the problem then. You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Love isn't rational. It's not something you can get down to a science. Love… it's when two people are truly happy to be together."

Niou frowned. This wasn't right. Everything Rie just said describes them, how they were back when they were together. How could she say that she loves Akaya when he knows she love him!

Rie sighed. "Look, I know you're just doing this because you care about him, but I'm not going to hurt him. I wouldn't dream of it. Sorry, I have to go," Rie said shaking her head. She turned and left right back through the door.

"Well that was a bust." Niou rolled his eyes. He kind of knew that was going to happen. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Rie didn't like it when people didn't trust her.

"There has to be some way we can get something out of her. Maybe we could talk to Oshitari," Marui said, followed by a pop of his gum.

"Che, what a stupid idea. There's no way that Oshitari-baka would help us." Niou's voice was slightly condescending.

"Geez, Niou, what your problem? You've been acting like a bitchy, PMS girl for a while. It's getting old."

"Fuck off," Niou shot back.

"I'm just trying to help!"

"You can't help because you don't understand! You've never been in love! I mean, who would fall in love with a pathetic loser like you!"

"Niou!"

Jackal held Marui back when the volley specialist tried to lunge at Niou.

"Niou," Yukimura said, "maybe you should take a walk before lunch break is over."

Niou thought for a moment, he only had civics and German left. "I'm think I'm going to skip for the rest of the day. Yagyuu, make up an excuse for me."

The Gentleman nodded to his partner. "Sure, I'll simply say that you aren't feeling well."

"Yeah." And with that Niou was gone.

The Trickster walked a little bit away from Rikkai. There wasn't really anything that he could do since school was in session. He was just glad that Yagyuu was covering for him. He couldn't take anymore unexcused absences, and if that fake-genius had covered for him – as if he would know – the teacher's wouldn't have believed it. But everyone just loved Yagyuu, the nice boy, the gentleman.

'You aren't feeling well' how clever. It's a lie, but not entirely. Niou hadn't felt right in a long time. And it irritated him. Che, and he called himself a trickster. He prided himself on being able to have perfect control, not only on himself, but on everyone around him. No matter what, he always made himself feel… apathetic? No, that's not that right word… Well, whatever the word is he's definitely it, all the time, no matter what.

…

Rie internally cheered when the bell rang. As much as she loved French, she preferred it or any class really, in small doses. An hour at the end of the day is not the best thing for her. She grabbed her schoolbag and rushed out the door. She had to find Akaya to talk to him. She found the second year as he was walking out of his last class.

"Hey, Akaya," she greeted. "Why were you still in class?"

Akaya smiled sheepishly at her. "Sensei wanted to talk to me about my grades."

Rie sighed. "Akaya, you have to keep up your grades to be on the tennis team."

"I know, I know, but the classes are so hard and so long!"

Rie smiled at him. She felt the exact same way. "Well if you want I could tutor you."

"Yes! That would be awesome! We have this giant test in two weeks and sensei said that if I can bring my grade up by then, I'll pass!"

Rie laughed softly. "Akaya, I actually need to talk to you about something…" She sat at the bottom of the staircase and motioned for him to sit down her to next. "You remember Yuushi, right?"

Akaya scrunched his face up as he tried to remember. "Yeah… He's the sleepy guy?"

"No, that's Jirou. Yuushi's the one with the blue hair."

"Oh! I know him! Why?"

"Well," Rie said sighing, "Yuushi's taking me to the beach for all of next week and I just wanted to let you know."

"What?"

…

**AN: Yeah, so it probably wasn't worth the wait… Sorry. I wanted to make it longer but I couldn't because then it would've had to wait like another day or two.**

**Hope you liked it!**

**Review!**


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